


Two Drifters

by justlook3



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Eloping, F/M, Romance, Secret Marriage
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-19
Updated: 2017-01-01
Packaged: 2018-08-16 03:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8084650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justlook3/pseuds/justlook3
Summary: After the events at Wexler University, Stone and Cassandra take a leap and embrace their new lives and selves by declaring their feelings for each other. Swept up in the emotion and romance of it all, they do the second most impulsive thing they've ever done in their lives and secretly elope.





	1. Declaration

In the aftermath of the events at Wexler, Cassandra had gone back to tie up loose ends with Lucy.  An oddly upset Jones had also stayed behind to bury the pieces of his pet gargoyle.  Jenkins was giving off a very weird vibe after Baird and Stone had filled him in about what Cassandra had told them about her experiences with the Lake Foundation, so the duo had decided to go out for a drink and give him space.

Baird seemed to be more interested in peeling the label off of her beer bottle than actually drinking it, so Stone finally had enough.

"Somethin' wrong?"

Baird sighed, looking up at him. "I know my role.  I do. And I understand why she asked me to do it. But God, sometimes . . . ."

"What and who?" Stone asked though he had a bad feeling.

"Cassandra," Baird sighed again. "She asked me to throw the accelerator into the rift . . ."

Baird was continuing her explanation of what Cassandra had asked of her but blood was rushing to Stone's ears.  He felt like he was going to throw up.  If he hadn't been a master of hiding behind a costume, he knew he probably would have gone pale if not actually been sick in front of Baird.  But a defensive wall went up and he was pretty sure the Guardian had no idea what he was going through internally.  He wasn't sure what the hell that was either.

Luckily he was able to say something neutral and comforting to Baird and she wasn't really good company and so they left after just the one drink.

He paced the floor of his apartment when he got home.  He had always known Cassandra was dying.  It had been less than an hour after they'd met that Flynn had told everyone about her tumor.  Why would this sacrifice that hadn't happened make him feel this way?

His stomach had done a sick flip flop in Oklahoma when she'd admitted she'd chosen a day when she would die. But it hadn't been like this. He knew her well enough to know that that day would come when all other hope had failed and that it wouldn't be soon. His apology had been more about her having to share something so intimate with them at the worst possible moment.

Cassandra was desperate to live, she wouldn't have done what she did with the Serpent Brotherhood if she wasn't.

So he didn't worry about her day to die.

Jenkins liked to remind them about the short life expectancy of Librarians.  To save the world, one of them might have to make the ultimate sacrifice.  Stone certainly understood why Cassandra would have wanted the rift closed.  She'd probably guessed rightly that none of them save Baird could have actually gone through with it. Even Jones wouldn't have been able to do it.

And himself?  He was pretty sure he would have gotten himself killed trying to save her.

Mabel had died in his arms and that had hurt.  But that had been sadness for their failure, her wasted life and what could have been.  Cassandra's death would . . . .

Destroy him. Because Mabel had been a what if, a mere possibility, a girl he liked.  Cassandra . . . .

He loved her.

He'd known that for a long time if he was honest with himself.  He knew that after Paris when he'd done more than look at Mabel's sights. When he'd spent a day searching his own soul and starting to sort out complicated feelings.

But they weren't complicated any more.  He loved her. And that was the purest, simplest feeling he'd ever had.

But the complicated part was telling her.   They'd been close since the team had come back together and she'd been open to his attempts at flirting.  But he wasn't sure if she was just being her sweet self or she returned his feelings.

He sighed looking at the clock.  It was going to be a long night.

* * *

 

Cassandra returned from Wexler with a spring in her step and a new air of determination about her. She understood Jenkins' concerns but she also could see that he understood her viewpoint.  The most important thing about today was the lesson she'd learned at the college. 

She had spent so much of her life on the sidelines, letting her path be determined by others or by fate itself.  No more.  She did have life left to live and she was firmly in control of what she did with the rest of it.

The question was though, what did she want to do with this life now that she was in charge of it?

She had spent so much time being invisible.  But she wasn't any more.  She was a Librarian and her opinions were respected by her co-workers.  Flynn had graduated them before Peru but today she felt like the three of them had finally walked across the stage. And she'd been their leader.

She'd never been a leader before.  She wasn't sure she would like to take point on a regular basis, Stone was much better suited for that, but she did like the respect she'd received.  Now, at least she and Stone had proved they could alternate leadership . . . . Ezekiel, well, maybe someday but he preferred to do his own thing.

Her thoughts lingered on Stone and the feeling she'd had this afternoon when he'd backed her up without hesitation.  They'd never actually had the trust conversation again, but she knew he trusted her now.  He'd given her his trust as far back as Collins Falls even though it had cost him Mabel.   Stone never talked about the woman, but Cassandra knew she'd been something to him, even if it was only a possibility.  They'd never had a chance to be anything more.

But Collins Falls had changed something between her and Stone.  She'd never felt quite the way she had when Jacob had started flirting with Mabel in front of her.   She'd tried to explain it away.  She'd been impatient to get to the bottom of the case, she'd not been happy with him dragging an outsider into their operation, on and on.  But the truth was that the sudden rage she'd felt had not been related in any way to the mission and had been completely about how she felt about Jacob Stone.

Maybe she'd projected too much onto him.  When she was still invisible, he'd seen her. He always had.  His voice was her anchor.  And he provided the function even when he'd been so hurt by her actions.  She'd made up feelings for him because no one had ever treated her like he did.

But then things changed when he'd come back from wherever he'd gone after Collins Falls.  He treated her differently.  He'd always been kind to her, even when he was angry, but after that, he seemed caring, almost tender. And then in New York, the flirting had started.  She'd enjoyed it and he'd seemed delighted when she'd attempted flirting of her own.  He'd smile at her, in a way that made her stomach explode into a mass of butterflies.

Flirting aside, her relationship with him was different than it was with everyone else.  Ezekiel was like her annoying little brother.  Jenkins was in turns caring father figure and stern uncle.  Flynn could be mentor or slightly strange older brother.  Baird was a mother hen.  She took her job as Guardian very, very seriously and sometimes her protectiveness was a bit stifling.  The stifling was eased by the fact that Baird didn't single her out for protectiveness, she was just as bad about Jones and Stone and worse about Flynn.

But Jacob?

Once he'd described their relationship with Baird as a partnership. She wasn't sure if that was quite the case yet with Baird.  But unlike all of the others, she and Jacob were partners.  That had been a cause of strife with Ezekiel in Peru. She'd admit in the privacy of her own apartment that she had taken Stone's side most of the time.  But that was because she and Stone were a true team. 

He began where she left off and vice versa.  She learned that today.  He truly had her back, he was her partner.

He completed her. And she'd fallen in love with him because of that.

It wasn't a crush. She'd admitted she'd had a bit of one on him at first because he'd seen her when others had not.  But it had faded when she'd thought she'd ruined her chances with him.  These feelings she'd had were genuine and they'd not happened over night.  They'd grown as she'd come to know him and as he'd opened up to her.  As they'd moved from co-workers at odds to friends to partners.

Now she knew what she wanted.  She wanted him.

But Cassandra could be practical. It was late and she wasn't ready to rush over to him and declare her feelings.

No, this was best done in the morning.  Baird always insisted on a day off after a case.  So she'd sleep on this tonight.

* * *

 

Stone hadn't had the long night he thought he'd have.  He'd been just exhausted enough that he'd fallen asleep fairly quickly.  But his particularly nice dream about Cassandra had only increased his desire to tell her how he felt.  It was their customary day off after a case, so he figured he'd call her later in the morning and ask her to come over.

Which is why it was a surprise when halfway through his morning coffee, his buzzer sounded.

Cassandra was standing outside the door and he was quite sure that his face lit up because it mirrored in her smile.  She was smiling, so he hoped that meant she hadn't come on Library business.  But you never knew and Cassandra had had a tough day yesterday, so he prepared himself for anything.

"Hey," he said, letting her in. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's nothing to do with work. I . . .wanted to talk to you."

"Oh," Jacob's expression relaxed and he ushered her into the living room.  He motioned to the sofa but she stayed standing. "What's up?"

"Um . . . ." Cassandra stood there staring at him for a moment, wringing her hands.  Then she closed her eyes.

She was scaring him now.  He moved closer to her, "Cassie?"

"I'm okay, I just am looking for the words."  She opened her eyes. "Yesterday was tough."

He nodded.  "I wondered if you wanted to talk about that.  I was so proud of you, you know," he looked down briefly, shuffling his feet. "Scared to death but proud."

"Scared?" There was something in her tone that sounded like . . .it sounded like hope.  It caused him to lift his head and their eyes met.

He took a deep breath and leaped. "You walked into a rift! I had your back, you know that, I . . .always will. But you could have . . .and I . . . ."

Suddenly, the distance between them vanished as she ran into his waiting arms.  It wasn't like the hug before the second sun, this time he wasn't shocked or stiff.  Instead they melted into each other, like they'd been doing this forever. He held her tightly and he could tell she was breathing him in like he was her. After a few moments, she leaned back, just far enough to see his face.

"Jacob,  I know we talked about what happened with the Lake and everything.  But Jenkins and I talked after you all went home. He's worried about me."

"Yeah, he seemed . . .well concerned I guess you could say after Baird and I filled him in on what you said."

She nodded. "But the one thing that happened yesterday was that I made a decision. Not a decision that was made for me by my parents or my tumor or circumstance. I made the decision to stay for myself.  I've lived most of my life in fear, fear of so many different things. But I'm not afraid any more. I don't know how much life I have left, but I want to live it.  And I . . . ."

Cassandra's speech was cut off by Jacob's lips on hers.  She was pretty certain that she'd been inviting the kiss with her eyes because it wasn't the surprise that it should have been.  She eagerly returned his kiss, both of them pouring out relief and happiness into the kiss. 

Then he pulled back, "please tell me you were gonna say that you want to live it with me . . . because otherwise I look like an ass for assuming that."

She giggled. "I was.  I'm guessing the feelings mutual huh?"

He pressed their foreheads together briefly and kissed her softly.  "Yes,  last night I did some thinkin' of my own and I was tryin' to figure out how to tell ya this.  You know . . .you know how afraid I was.  But I ain't afraid anymore. And I . . . ." He took another deep breath, cradling her chin in his hand, making sure their eyes met. "I love you, Cassandra.  I can't let another day go without tellin' you that."

She smiled, tears in her eyes, and nodded. "I love you too, Jacob."   He dropped his hand from her chin, but only so he could pull her closer, wrapping his arms around her as she buried her face in his neck.

They held each other for a few moments, letting the emotions wash over them and then they were kissing again. They weren't frenzied passionate kisses, more like joyful, happy kisses cementing their declarations and opening this new chapter between them.  If Cassandra were able to describe the feelings behind the kisses, she'd probably have described it like drinking champagne, giddiness and little bubbles of happiness bursting over them.

Jacob was certainly feeling this giddiness, he almost felt drunk, but in the best possible way.  Which is probably why he said what he did next.  But the moment the words left his mouth, he knew that he meant them.

They'd drawn back for a breath and he'd just been staring at her lovingly.  Then something had happened, he was certain that his mouth moved before his mind caught up.

"Marry me."

His eyes widened from the shock of what he'd just said as Cassandra's mouth fell open.  She backed up a step even as he reached for her.

"Cassandra . . . I didn't . . . ." Then he shook his head.  He had meant it. "No, actually I did. I meant that."

"What?" Cassandra was only able to get the one word out as she stared at him.

"I did. Marry me. What's dating gonna accomplish?  We have been through so damn much. So much. You know me better than anyone ever has.  And I probably know you better than you've let anyone know you."

"True . . . ." Cassandra seemed only capable of speaking one word at a time.

But Jacob seemed to be unable to stop talking. "I love you. And I know I want to marry you.  But you know maybe, okay, yeah blurting it out like that was possibly not the best idea. But there ain't no need to date.  Let's just spend the rest of our lives together. "

Cassandra continued to stare at him and he continued to ramble on. "Look, okay, I blindsided ya with this. You probably want to think about this. That's fine. You know take tonight or tomorrow or a week or hell a month if you need to."

Cassandra finally found her voice. "No."

Jacob looked crestfallen. "Of course.  I mean I shouldn't have assumed.  I never asked you how you felt about marriage at all.  I mean we could date that's fine. I just . . . ."

"Jacob," Cassandra stepped forward, her hand on his cheek. "Stop talking okay? Listen."

"Right, I'm sorry."

"I said no because I don't need to think about it. I will marry you."

"What?"

Cassandra laughed. "Oh, let's not do this again.  Let's do it! Let's get married!  Tomorrow if we can swing it."

He laughed too, twirling her around in his arms. "Okay, where?"

"Anywhere but Vegas."

"Yeah," he scrunched up his face. "Not really our style."

He let her go for a minute to grab his laptop and set it up on the coffee table. When Cassandra sat next to him, he pulled her onto his lap. Now that he could touch her, he seemed to not be able to stop himself.  And she didn't mind at all.  He couldn't quite believe they were doing this, but it seemed natural.

Oregon was ruled out pretty much right away, especially since they found out there was a three day waiting period.

"Florida?" Cassandra said after some searching. "There's no waiting period for non-residents.  And . . ."she trailed her hand down the screen. "St. Augustine might be an idea, historic and romantic."

Jacob nodded, changing their search.  "Look at that," he pulled up a listing for a bed and breakfast. "They have a package that doesn't involve a stay, with a quick ceremony in their courtyard.  If we work things just right, we can get married tomorrow. Let me call and see if they have an opening."

Fate was working in their favor as there was an opening the next afternoon. The ceremony would be in the courtyard, weather permitting, if not then inside in the parlor. Jacob quickly reserved it.

He turned to her with a smile. "Now what?"

She beamed. "We have so much to do!  We could take the Door into a Courthouse and get our license. We need to go shopping, I need a dress and we need rings and . . . ."

Stone bit his lip. "About rings. You realize we can't wear them right?"

"Why?"

"We aren't gonna . . .  Cassandra, we can't tell anyone about our marriage."

Cassandra blinked, her face confused and downcast.   "You asked me. Why would we hide that? I thought you were done with all of the lies."

"Darlin',  it's not that," he grabbed her hands. "If things were different I'd be proud to tell everyone. But you know how dangerous our jobs are.  What if Prospero or Moriarity or another bad guy decides to use our relationship as leverage? "

Cassandra slowly nodded. "I guess that's valid.  But we could tell . . ." she trailed off. "They wouldn't understand, would they?"

He shook his head. "Baird would give us her best 'mom' lecture.  We ain't been together a day and we show up married?  They wouldn't understand."

"And Jones would never let up.  I hate this."

"Sweetheart . . . ." Stone said softly. "I can call and cancel. We'll wait. I don't want you to regret this."

Cassandra was silent for a moment, looking at him, then she shook her head. "I want to do this. No regrets. I want to be your wife. We'll tell them someday."

He nodded, squeezing her hands. "I promise, we will. When the time is right, we'll tell them."

"It is sort of a really romantic secret," she mused. "I kinda like it."

"We can still get rings if you want. We'll wear them when we're alone.  Or something. We'll work it out."

"Alright," Cassandra squeezed his hand back. "Let's go get some breakfast and go shopping, okay? We have things to talk about, like where we're gonna live and stuff like that. And we might as well do that and get stuff done too. And we have to figure out how to sneak in to use the Door."

Jacob shrugged. "These days, it seems like that Door is always in use, no one will even notice."

"Yeah," she beamed at him, letting the excitement and romance get to her. She leaned over and kissed him soundly. "Let's go! We have one day to enjoy being engaged and I wanna make the most of it."

He laughed and let her pull him off the sofa.


	2. The Wedding

They were in a leafy courtyard of a historic bed and breakfast in St. Augustine, hands joined, exchanging vows that would bind them as husband and wife.  The scent of jasmine from the vines crawling up the pergola they were standing under was heavy in the humid slightly salty air.

They'd dressed fairly casually as they'd come into work in the morning, hoping that the clippings books wouldn't go off so soon after a case.   As anticipated none had and they'd taken advantage of everyone's usual tendency to scatter off to various corners of the Library working on their individual projects to slip out unnoticed.  Stone was wearing a white shirt and a pair of khaki cargo pants.  Cassandra had bought a dress for the occasion, a vintage cream and yellow floral sundress trimmed with lace.    In Portland she'd paired it with a yellow cardigan and a green belt but for the wedding had exchanged both for a long white crochet sweater.  Instead of a bouquet, she had a spray of yellow roses pinned to her shoulder that they'd gotten at a nearby flower shop.

"I now pronounce you husband and wife," the officiant said as the newlyweds beamed at each other. "You may kiss the bride."

"We're married!" Cassandra exclaimed with a bit of a giggle as they broke apart, her beam rivaling the Florida sun.

"We are," he smiled back at her, twirling her around to the delight of the photographer. 

They took a few more photos around the courtyard and in front of the house before having a glass of champagne with the nice couple who owned the bed and breakfast.  As the newly weds had no other guests, the owners also had served as witnesses.

Jacob had found a suitably romantic restaurant for dinner, so they decided to take a stroll around town until their reservation time.

"This is the oldest street in the United States," Jacob said as they took their leave of the bed and breakfast. "This was absolutely the perfect spot."

Cassandra beamed looking around at the historic buildings. "We went to Florida once when I was a little girl," she sighed, "for a science competition.  I only saw a little bit outside of the convention center but it didn't look anything like this."

Jacob squeezed her hand briefly and she brightened up, leaving her personal past behind in this magical spot.

They strolled around, popping into art galleries and quaint shops and taking photos of the beautiful old buildings and magical gardens.  They kissed under one of St. Augustine's love trees and a kind passerby took their photo for them. 

At the romantic bistro they'd chosen for dinner, the staff was able to fulfill Jacob's last minute request (they'd told him they'd try very hard) and he was able to surprise a delighted Cassandra with a miniature wedding cake.   It was as delicious as it was beautiful and Cassandra told him they'd have to come back on every anniversary just for the cake.

The sun was starting to set as they took a post dinner stroll along the beach, both knowing that they would have to head home soon.

"We could maybe stay here tonight," Jacob suggested. "They might not even notice. It isn't as if we don't both sometimes stay later than everyone else."

Cassandra looked wistful, "it sounds wonderful, honey, but what if we come back through the Door in the morning and they're all there waiting for us?  And we're wearing the same clothes?"

He sighed. "Yeah, you're right and I don't wanna check into a hotel with no luggage anyway.  This is our wedding night and I don't want it to look seedy.  I'm sorry, darlin', I wish I could give you a real honeymoon."

"Hey," she stopped and turned so she could put her arms around him. "We'll figure something out. Someday we'll go on our honeymoon.  Until then, let's go home."

They had decided that "home" for now would be split between their apartments until they got a feel for which suited them better as a couple. Tonight it would be Cassandra's apartment.  They both had to admit, while walking back toward the Door, to being a bit nervous.  Last night had ended with a kiss goodnight as they parted.  There were certain expectations on a wedding night after all.

But they decided to avoid the subject for the moment in favor of figuring out their game plans.  Cassandra would go through the door first and then text him if the coast was clear.  Then they'd meet up at her apartment.

They stopped near where the Door was located, so that Cassandra could switch out her crochet sweater for her cardigan. She fastened the belt around her waist and then with a wistful expression slipped off the antique gold ring that Jacob had placed on her left hand hours before.  She made sure it was in a safe pocket in her bag and then kissed her husband goodbye and walked back through to Portland.

She was setting her bag on the table, looking around and grabbing her phone when Baird walked into the room.

"Did your Clippings book go off?" Baird asked. It wasn't that unusual but Baird looked concerned after everything that happened at Wexler.

"Oh no," Cassandra said, keeping her tone light. "I needed a little me time, so I took the door to my favorite museum in New York for the afternoon."

She mentally crossed her fingers hoping that Baird didn't notice where the Door was actually dialed into.  They'd been lucky that no one had touched it, to be honest.

Baird nodded, her concern faded. "That sounds like a good plan.  Are you feeling better?"

Cassandra grinned, Baird had no idea. "I am, thank you.  Well, I think I'm going to head home."

"Yeah, me too. Let me walk you out." 

Cassandra hoped that Jacob wasn't getting too anxious waiting back in Florida for her.  But luckily Baird got distracted by her own phone on the way out so Cassandra was able to send Jacob a quick text.

_Ran into Baird, she's walking me out.  I told her I went to NYC for the afternoon. She bought it._

Stone came through the Door in his turn just as Jenkins strolled into the room.  Stone suddenly realized that he, unlike Cassandra, had forgotten to remove his ring before he'd come through. He slid his left hand into his pocket and turned toward the caretaker.

"Evening Jenkins."

Jenkins looked over at the globe. "Good evening, Mr. Stone.  Took a trip to the Sunshine State today?"

Stone shrugged, managing to slide his ring off, glad in their haste to find a ring that they'd chosen one just a bit loose.  "I've been trying to spend a little time seeing the world outside of work.  St. Augustine was somewhere I've always wanted to check out."

Jenkins gave Stone an appraising stare but said nothing more, just simply nodded and went on his way.   Stone had the unsettling feeling that Jenkins saw right through him, but he also knew that Jenkins wasn't one to pry.  The old man gave advice where it would be welcomed and kept his peace when it wasn't.

This wasn't going to be easy.  But for now he was headed home to his bride.  First he needed to go back to his apartment and get his stuff, he'd packed some things last night but hadn't brought them over to Cassandra's just yet.

One of their errands had been to get keys made, so he let himself into Cassandra's place.

"Sweetheart?" he called into the apartment. It was darker than he expected but he could hear some music coming from within.

"Upstairs!" drifted down Cassandra's voice.  Her apartment featured a loft which she had made into her bedroom, leaving the actual bedroom as a work/study area.

He left his bags in her living room and went upstairs.  She'd left all but one of her lights off, choosing instead to gather all of her candles together.  The bed had been turned down in a fashion that reminded him of the hotel in Munich they'd stayed at when they went in search of the Crown of King Arthur, the first fancy hotel he'd ever stayed at.   Then he caught sight of Cassandra who had been fiddling with her phone in its dock, possibly adjusting the playlist.

She was wearing a cream colored silk nightgown that clung to her curves in ways he'd only seen once before, in a power plant in Italy.  She'd topped it with some kind of flimsy lacy robe, more for romance then any practical application.  She looked absolutely bridal.

"You look gorgeous," he managed to get out when he succeeded in getting his jaw to close and his mouth to work.

"Thank you," she said blushing. "I know you felt bad about us not really having the whole big thing for our wedding."

"I do and I don't.  I would have loved to have you walk down an aisle in a wedding gown with all of our friends there. And I would have loved to have given you a proper honeymoon.  But what we had today? That was us. Pure and simple and it was beautiful. I wouldn't have changed it for anything."

Cassandra and Jacob both had one thought about what they would have changed, having to lie about what they'd done.  But they didn't want to ruin this night by dwelling on what they would be facing in the morning.

Cassandra smiled and crossed the room to him, putting her arms around his neck. "It was, it was perfect in every way.  And besides, what good would spending money on a hotel room do when we both know we're not gonna see anything but the bed?"

"Why Mrs. Stone, someone is eager," Jacob grinned and planted a kiss on her. "I was going to tell you if you wanted to take things slow that it wouldn't bother me, but I think you have other ideas."

Cassandra looked down, suddenly looking shy. "Am I moving too fast?"

Jacob titled her chin up and gave a soft chuckle. "Yesterday I told you I loved you, today we got married. I don't think there's a too fast here."

"No, I suppose not."

"It's all been a whirlwind, so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to slow it down . . ." at Cassandra's little look of dismay, he shook his head. "Just a little.  Let's enjoy tonight, take it slow and easy."

"Oh . . ." Cassandra beamed. "Yeah, I'm good with that."

"I thought you might," he removed her hands from around his neck, to take them in his own. He brought one hand up to his lips pressing a kiss across the back of it. "You look amazing, my beautiful wife."

"I bought it yesterday, I wanted something special for tonight. I don't . . ." she giggled. "Don't usually wear this to bed."

He chuckled. "Darn, a man could get used to this."

"I do like the way it feels . . ."she blushed. "The way I feel when you look at me like you are. That I could get used to."

"I think I'd look at you this way no matter what you wore. "

She smiled and leaned up to gently kiss him. The kisses gradually increased in passion, his fingers tangling in her hair. They broke off the kisses to take a breath and then Jacob began gently peppering kisses from her forehead down around her ear and then on to her jaw.  When he reached her neck, he gently pushed the robe from her shoulders and watched it pool on the floor. She giggled a little and stepped forward before blissfully sighing as he continued his exploration of the delicate skin of her neck.

Since she'd moved closer to him, she began unbuttoning his shirt.  He was wearing an undershirt, so at first her fingers danced over the thin material, before she began to gently pull the shirt from his waistband so she could get to bare skin.  He broke off kissing her neck so he could shrug his shirt off.

She bit her lip and he chuckled and raised the undershirt over his head too. His chain bounced back against his chest as he did so.  She'd noticed before that he wore one, but it wasn't until now that she could make out what he wore on the chain, it looked like a guitar pick.  She made a mental note to ask him later about it before he pulled her back against him.

They kissed and then it was her turn to press kisses down his ear and jaw.  She was delighted by the low groans he made when she kissed his neck.  Everything was very slow and gentle, light touches, tender kisses. 

But something about how loving and intimate this all was made Cassandra want to move things along a little.  So when their latest kiss ended, she stepped back slightly from her husband.

He looked concerned and opened his mouth to ask her a question but she just shook her head and smiled at him. He waited, seeing what was going on.

She raised her hands to the spaghetti straps on her nightgown and slowly pushed them down. His eyes widened but his concern erased as he realized what she was doing.  And then his mouth opened again, his eyes darkening as each inch of her was revealed as she took the nightgown off slowly.  She saw his hand reach out at one point, but she shook her head and he stayed where he was, mesmerized by the show she was putting on.  When the nightgown finally hit the floor, he growled and moved forward, kissing her hungrily.  She smirked against his lips and then giggled when she felt herself being lifted up.

He deposited her in the center of the bed and then removed the rest of his clothes, dropping the condom he'd grabbed from his bag on her nightstand.  Then he joined her in bed, pulling her close to him.

"I love you, Mrs. Stone."

"I love you too, Mr. Stone."


	3. First Day

They'd taken their time making love and Cassandra wasn't sure how something so slow and easy had been quite so passionate, but she'd always remember tonight.  Every moment of their wedding day, as unconventional as it might have been, was going to be in her mind in a file labeled 'cherished.'  She'd never felt more loved and she was so glad they'd taken a chance on each other and leaped into this new adventure.

She was lying against his chest, absentmindedly drawing circles when her fingers brushed against his necklace and she remembered she meant to ask him.  He watched her as she ran her fingers over the pendant squinting to make out the word that was engraved on it. _Dream._

"It's a guitar pick," Jacob said softly, kissing the top of her head. "My momma got it for me before she died."

"Do you play?"

He nodded, which she felt more than saw. "Sing too.  Momma always thought I'd be a country star. Off in Nashville playin' to millions.  I'm not anywhere near that good . . . but she didn't know who I really was. Not until right before ...."

"Oh Jacob, but she knew in the end?" She raised herself up to look at him, reaching a hand out to stroke his face.

He nodded again. "I told her on her death bed.  And she smiled at me and said she always kinda knew.  Then she . . ." his voice broke. "She told me that the necklace still applied. I just had to dream different. She never wanted that life for me.  She knew it wasn't for me.  But Pop . . . I was his only son and he was damned I was gonna go off after her "foolish dreams", told her she had three girls to waste their lives doin' that."

"You're doing what she wanted though now. You're you now. And you're living your dream no one else's. Which may not be . . . .?"

"No, though that's exactly what she meant by this necklace. She wanted me to dream and not follow hers or Pop's.  I just wish . . . I just wish that she could have seen me find this life and myself and you."

Cassandra smiled and brushed a kiss against his jaw.  "Maybe you could sing for me sometime?"

"Maybe . . .Cassandra?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, since we're talkin' about parents . . . "he cringed."I certainly ain't tellin' my old man about you. But your parents?"

She shook her head. "Your parents never really knew you.  And mine didn't know me.  Oh, they knew what I could do.  But they didn't know **me**.  They didn't want to know me.  They dreamed a dream for me and unlike your mother who just wanted you to find yourself; they couldn't deviate from that dream. They loved an idea more than their own child.  And when the dream died . . . . Well, it was like I died too. Even though I'm still alive, still their child, still me."

"Darlin', I'm so sorry."

"Don't be," she tapped the pendant. "I'll take your mother's advice and keep dreaming. We'll do that together, okay?"

"I don't know what I did to deserve you and the Library."

"Well, Baird tells me that you tried to pick Lamia up in a bar," Cassandra smirked. "That's what you did."

"You know, Mrs. Stone, you're really kinda a brat."

She chuckled, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.  "Whatcha gonna do about that?"

And her smirk dissolved into delighted laughter as he pounced on her.

* * *

 

Jacob found out the next morning that his bride was a hell of a cook. Or at least she was of breakfast foods.  He figured that made sense since math connected so often with the scents of breakfast.  Her omelets were out of this world and she promised to bake a fresh batch of muffins for him on the weekend.  They'd split a blueberry one from her freezer and it was fantastic.

Breakfast over, she slid her arms around his waist and sighed, leaning her face against his shoulder.

"I don't like it either," he said, echoing her sigh. "But I don't know, maybe we should tell them we're together? Gauge how they feel?"

Cassandra shook her head. "That's not going to stop the bad guys though."

"Baird and Flynn . . . "and then he trailed off, shaking his head."Aren't us."

"No, Eve's a soldier and we are not.  Flynn's been a Librarian for a long time. Both of them can put aside their personal feelings for the greater good.  Some day maybe we'll learn that.  But you and I . . . ."

"During one of those training sessions from hell, Baird told me for a habitual liar I wear my heart on my sleeve too much.  Bad guys are gonna know we got something special going on, but they don't need to know just how special. Not until we've learned more."

"It has to be this way," Cassandra sighed heavily.  "Even from the people we care about.  At least for now.  It doesn't mean we have to like it."

"Well," Jacob kissed her forehead. "It's not a total secret from everything everywhere. When we're on our own time, we are one hundred percent married. And some day I would like to tell my favorite sister about you.  Not just yet, because she has a tendency to blab but she and Pop will eventually have another blow up where they don't talk for two years and I'll tell her then."

Cassandra giggled. "I think I might like your favorite sister."

"I made you laugh a little.  We can do this, Cassie."

She nodded. "I know. It is rather a romantic secret to have. I feel like a character in a book."

"Well we better get a move on," Jacob stopped to kiss her. "I'll see you later?"

"Of course, I'm your wife," she smiled which was his intent.  He stepped out of her arms and grabbed his day bag, blowing her a kiss as he left.  They'd decided to stagger their arrivals, though every now and then they'd arrived at the same time by coincidence anyway.

She sighed and looked back at the breakfast dishes. Might as well get a head start on the whole marriage business and do some housework.

* * *

 

 Work was more difficult to get through than Stone had anticipated.  Oh, keeping the marriage a secret wasn't that big of a deal, keeping things secret came as second nature to him.  It was trying to behave in an expected fashion toward Cassandra that was the tough part.  He'd had two glorious days of being able to be openly affectionate with her and it was tough to not just casually put his hands on her.   So he deliberately tried to busy himself in a separate area of the Library.

There was a lot of work to be done.  The Library had been acting strangely since it had come back.  Even the parts that had always been in Portland weren't quite right and they regularly lost equipment they'd been using for months.   Inventory and mapping was an ongoing process.  So was the research necessary to track down both the items that had been stolen by the Serpent Brotherhood (many of which had ended up on the black market  and had made their way into the collections of usually unsuspecting but still shady characters) and that which had more recently disappeared.

He was currently doing research on art auctions.  Keeping an eye out for anything that may be more than it seemed.  Jenkins had mentioned that they got more of their collection than you'd expect at completely ordinary auctions, people selling off objects that they had no idea were anything other than an antique vase or sculpture or what have you. 

Cassandra had been helping Jenkins with his latest experiment, getting a collection of communication stones to work as transmitters.

The lights blinked on and off above him and he sighed.  The moving and disappearances was one thing, but the lights were new.  He really hoped that didn't mean that the Library was getting even worse. 

Maybe this was a good time to try to steal his wife away for a late lunch.  He'd not seen her since they'd passed in the break room at mid morning.

* * *

 

Cassandra wasn't sure how she felt this morning.  She could call most of what she was feeling frustration but she wasn't sure exactly what she was frustrated about.  Part of her was a tiny bit annoyed by the way Jacob had parted from her this morning.  They'd agreed to stagger their arrivals and he'd sweet and loving when he parted from her.   So why was she annoyed?  Because he hadn't offered to help clean up breakfast?  She hadn't exactly asked him to help her.  So maybe it hadn't occurred to him to offer.  They hadn't talked much about their past relationships, but she had a feeling that it had been a while for him.  Just like her.  She'd forgotten about the little things in terms of communication.  She figured Jacob had known her so well that he'd just know.  So now she knew not to assume things about him. 

Her husband was sweet.  He would have helped her with no complaints had she only asked.  She knew that deep down.  She just had to remember to speak up.  And that perhaps Jacob was a bit scattered in the morning, she had noticed that he'd had to get a cup of coffee in him to even talk to her.

She giggled. He was actually rather an adorable morning grump.  _Her husband_.

Keeping from being able to say that out loud was probably another source of frustration.   They'd had two wonderful days of being a couple.  No fear that anyone would see them, holding hands, kissing, hugging, just enjoying being a couple.   She hated hiding things.  She'd sworn off secrets after she'd betrayed the Library.

But now they were keeping a huge secret.  Huge.  And as romantic as it seemed, it was frustrating. She wanted to kiss him whenever she fancied, not just when they were at home.

 She sighed and returning to shelving the books she had stacked up on the table in front of her.  Jenkins had noticed her pre-occupation today and had finally sent her off with stack of books to put away.  She knew he wouldn't pry as to why she was distracted.  But she really did wish she could tell one of them.  Just one of them. 

But she knew they just wouldn't understand.  Flynn wasn't around.  Baird would absolutely flip out.  Jenkins would be quietly disapproving or worse yet disappointed.  And Ezekiel? Oh, he'd never let them hear the end of it.  This would probably make things worse when it came to protecting their relationship from the bad guys.  So this was the way it was going to have to be.

She put the book up with more force than necessary just as she heard someone entering the stacks.

"You okay, darlin'?"

She beamed as her husband's cologne met her nose and turned around. "I'm fine now."

* * *

 

Ezekiel Jones was hungry.  Well, hungry was almost a permanent state with him.  But he was really hungry, like it was time for lunch hungry.  Working on trying to update an antiquated security system for a sentient building that didn't seem to want him to update its security was actually a fun challenge.  But he needed a break and something more substantial than popcorn to tackle it some more. 

This was the day that he and Cassandra usually went out for lunch, so he went looking to find her. He'd poked his head in Jenkins' lab to find it empty.  Well sometimes Cassandra was in the stacks on the other side of the lab, so he headed that way. 

He heard voices and started to come around the corner of the stack when something caught his eye and he stopped and backed up.

Cassandra and Stone were around the corner, their voices lowered so he couldn't make out their conversation, especially since Stone's back was to him.  They were standing far too close to each other, but that was something he'd come to expect from the duo.  But was . . . he strained to see without being noticed.  Was Stone twirling a lock of Cassandra's hair between his fingers?

"So you ready to go?" he heard Stone ask Cassandra.

Ezekiel smirked and came around the corner. "Go where?"

By the time he was in sight, the twosome was standing an almost reasonable distance apart. Still too close for normal people, but again, that was just how Stone and Cassandra were.

"Out to lunch, Jones."  Stone's voice sounded annoyed, but Jones couldn't detect a more annoyed than normal tone to it.

"Lunch? Perfect.  I'm starving, absolutely starving.  Let's go!"

In his quest to eat, Jones didn't quite see the couple exchanging looks.  But he knew he'd interrupted something.

Then they acted even more suspicious at lunch.  They frequently went to a place in the neighborhood for lunch. They'd get a booth, Cassandra and Stone would sit together on one side and he (and Baird if she came along) would sit opposite.  It had been standard practice for months.  But today Cassandra slid in next to him, leaving Stone to sit alone across from them.

They showed absolutely no signs of fighting, so instead they were trying too hard to hide something.

Ezekiel inwardly grinned; didn't they realize they were being even more obvious by trying to avoid each other?   He wasn't sure what was going on exactly between them.  But it was going to be fun finding out.


	4. Scenes from a Marriage

"Honey?" Cassandra called into her husband's apartment (where they were staying this week). "Baird said you'd already gone home when I got back."

"Yeah babe," came Jacob's voice from the kitchen. "I'm getting dinner in the oven.  Everything go okay?"

"Yeah, no real trouble just a lot of walking.  And running.  My feet are killing me.  I'm gonna go sit down."

Cassandra had a solo retrieval mission today.  It was basically like she said, easy, aside from all the time on her feet.  Not helped by the new shoes she'd chosen to wear that day. She sighed as she entered the living room.

She just couldn't understand it.  Jacob had such an eye for beauty, his apartment had been chosen for its absolutely stunning view after all.  But everything inside his apartment looked like he'd run to the nearest furniture store with his stipend and bought the first things he walked into.  She absolutely hated every bit of his furniture.  Especially his couch.  Oh it was comfortable enough in a functional sort of way. It was the sort of couch someone put in a rec room that was expected to get a lot of kids and pets crawling all over it.  Function completely over form. It wasn't as much ugly as incredibly boring.

Everything that Jacob Stone was not.  Or at least the Jacob Stone that she'd married.  She sighed again. The furniture was the Jake Stone she'd met in Oklahoma and she felt sad that he'd held on to the costume even after moving to Portland.

"Hey," Jacob said coming into the living room and catching her frown. "You okay?"

She couldn't . . . she wanted to tell him how sad his furniture made her.  But she didn't know how to say it without putting him on the defense or hurting him. So many people had hurt the man she loved, she didn't want to be another name on that list.  So she told a half truth.

"Just tired."

"Ah," he chuckled sitting next to her on the couch and drawing her feet into his lap.  He started working on the laces. "These shoes are cute but they don't look comfy, darlin'."

"No, unfortunately."

"So tell me about your case," Jacob said, managing to get her shoes off and started to remove her ankle socks.

Cassandra launched into an explanation, punctuated by blissful sighs as Jacob's clever fingers massaged the day out of her feet.  She really did love being married to him, the way he knew exactly what she needed while seeming to hang on every word she said.  A girl could really get used to being adored like he did her.  So for now, she let her misgivings about his furniture fade away.

* * *

 

He hogged the bed. Cassandra had gotten caught up in something she was doing and he'd gone to bed before her.  Now he was lying on his back, his head very near her pillow though he'd sorta fallen in the no man's land between their pillows. She sighed; she'd have to wake him to move him over.

But . . . light was coming in through the curtains that were open a crack. Jacob slept shirtless and he'd kicked off the blanket in his sleep.  All of that chest just . . . Cassandra's brain sidetracked.  They were still newlyweds, just past two weeks married and frankly they'd been having a hard time keeping their hands off each other at work.

She smirked.  Might as well have some fun waking him up.  If he was going to hog the bed then she was going to get something out of it.

Jacob woke up on a moan.  He'd been having the most amazing dream . . . that he realized as he opened his eyes wasn't a dream at all.  His wife was sprawled across his chest, her tongue tracing patterns across his bare skin.

"Baby?"

"You were hogging the bed," she said, her tone innocent. "I was waking you up."

"Is that so?" he groaned as she hit a sensitive spot. "You know, I didn't know that I married a wildcat."

Cassandra stopped, suddenly shy. "Is that bad? I just . . ."

Jacob chuckled, his hands finding the hem of her camisole and starting to push it up. "Not in the least. I love it."

"Oh," she said moving up so he could pull the garment over her head. "Then maybe I don't have an issue with you hogging the bed if we get to do this."

Then she leaned over and kissed him.  She didn't mind him hogging the bed.  Not in the least.

* * *

 

Today had been one of the weirder days at the Library and Stone had had plenty of weird days. It was weird mostly because of the ups and downs. The Library had gone from being sickly to full blown meltdown. Flynn had been kidnapped by what turned out to be the spirit of the Library and Flynn and Baird ended up giving Prospero the staff of Zarathustra in order to save the Library.  Meanwhile, the rest of them had come quite close to being eaten by their own Library. In his own fear, Stone had snapped at his wife, though he had a feeling she'd been too distracted to really notice his tone. She'd been adamant about staying with Jenkins and he wasn't going to leave her. Besides he agreed completely with her, Jones might not have, but he and Cassandra were doing their jobs. They were Librarians and they protected the Library even if it meant giving their lives to it.

Then the day had gone back up again. Flynn and Baird were okay and the Library was whole again.  But Flynn was sad and something happened with him and Baird. Stone sighed, he was torn in his loyalties to both of his friends so didn't know exactly how to act.

Just because the Library was whole again didn't mean that it was completely safe, however.  He'd gotten injured when a bookcase in his section had toppled over being made unstable.  Baird had told him to go and he'd decided not to tell Cassandra.  She'd worry too much and give things away. Besides he was mostly fine. Nothing a few aspirin and a bandage couldn't cure.

In fact, he'd planned on making Cassandra a "we didn't die" celebration dinner.  So he was happily making plans for what to make on the short walk to his car when his phone rang.

And that's when the lows started again.  It was his other sister who had only heard their father's side of the story.  After the day he'd had, he wasn't in the mood to sit and take the tongue lashing like the old Jake would have.  He got into a rather nasty fight with her over the phone at the park, which lead him to storm home without doing any shopping.

Home this week was Cassandra's apartment and frankly her place did nothing to calm his shot nerves.  He loved Cassandra very much.  He thought her style was cute and it had not escaped his notice that as their relationship had changed that her sweaters had gotten tighter and her skirts shorter.  He'd always found her lovely to look at and now that he knew what she was like in bed, he found her sexy too.

But he couldn't say the same for her decor.  It was always a bit too feminine for his comfort.  And today it reminded him of the sister who he'd just gotten in a fight with.  Carrie was very into flowers, her home filled to the gills with nearly Victorian fluff and chairs that no one could sit on.  Cassandra's apartment was just making him angry and that made him feel awful.

He couldn't tell her that he hated the decor.  People had disappointed and hurt his wife and he couldn't go back on that list. He'd hurt her once and he'd never do it again. 

But right now being in her apartment was giving him a headache and he thought about going back to his. Oh, he wasn't all that fond of his decor either but at least it wasn't loud.

He sighed, sinking on to the couch. At least it was comfortable, if he closed his eyes and didn't look at it. What was he going to do?

"Honey?"

He opened his eyes slowly. He'd been so busy running over scenarios in which he told her how he felt about her decor and a couple of other issues that were nagging him about living with her that he'd missed her coming in.  He realized he never had taken care of his shoulder; he must have looked horrible even though the bleeding had stopped long ago.

"What happened?"  Her voice was all worry and his heart clenched.  She was so sweet and she loved him so much.  He could overlook the decor, couldn't he?

"Oh, yeah.  Bookcase toppled over. I'm fine but Baird mother hened me. I should have cleaned it up."

Cassandra shot him a weird look. "Why didn't you?"

"My sister called on my way home.  The one that always sides with Pop.  We got into a nasty fight and I just . . . ."

"Oh, oh, honey. I'm so sorry," she crossed over and sat next to him on the sofa. "What can I do to help?"

She'd snuggled up next to him and he blurted it out without thinking. "We can go to mine for tonight or you know forever . . . oh no."

"What?"

"Cassie . . . I didn't . . ." Cassandra moved to stand up, her eyes firing at him and he sighed. He didn't want to fight with her. Not now, not when he was so spent.  But he needed to tell her. So he started talking. "I love you."

"I know . . . ." her voice was wary but it didn't seem exactly angry, more like she wasn't sure where he was going.

"I love your style. I do.  All of them pretty little dresses and the cute shoes and the pins and everything. I love everything about you.  Except for this damn apartment.  It reminds me of my sister."

"Oh . . ." Cassandra bit her lip. "It does?"

"Yeah, she's got a place just like this. All over stuffed and packed with flowers and . . . oh baby, I'm sorry but lookin' at it right now makes me want to scream.  Normally I take it from her but tonight I told her where to go and now I just feel . . . I feel awful because I hurt her and now I'm hurtin' you."

Cassandra shook her head, understanding dawning, especially in light of the fight with his sibling.  She sighed softly. "Your decor makes me sad. I kinda feel the same way about it that you do about mine."

"Really?" he had to admit that what he had in his place could barely count as decor.

"It's not you.  It's not the man I married.  Jacob Stone loves art and culture and beautiful things.  That apartment?  That's the man I met in Oklahoma who put everything he was in a box and shut the lid tight.  And I want to cry for you every time I see it.  I want you to express yourself, honey."

Jacob nodded. "I kinda . . . it was all a bit of a whirlwind when we came here, I just worked on autopilot. But darlin' I don't want to suppress you either!  Too many people have done that to you and I don't want to be another.  Even if I really . . . I can learn to deal."

She chuckled, surprising him. "Jacob, you and I? We're a team right? Pretty sure that's why we got married.  We can make our own style, together.  I mean your apartment has a great view and a better kitchen and it's kinda a blank canvas . . . ."

"Yeah, but your apartment has the extra room which I like and the balcony," he sighed. "Well maybe we can just start with the decor in each place until we really know where we want to live? We're stuck in these leases for six months anyway."

She nodded, "we can do that, tone mine down, perk yours up.  As for tonight . . . today was awful. So awful.  Let's go find a hotel for tonight huh?  Get away from everything. I just want to hold you and forget about everything.  And be thankful we're not going through what Baird and Flynn are."

Jacob nodded around the lump in his throat that was being caused by something other than the fight with his sister.  He grabbed Cassandra and pulled her tightly to him. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," she said softly. "So much. It'll be okay.  It's all about communication. You hog the bed."

He chuckled, "you snore.  But I still love sharing a bed with you.  Maybe one with less flowers. Though your bed is really comfy."

"We'll pick out sheets together. I hate your couch."

"We'll get a slip cover for yours.  Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah, you go clean up and I'll find a hotel. Okay?"

He kissed her softly. "Okay."

* * *

 

Ezekiel Jones was enjoying a well deserved drink in one of his favorite bars.  Much as he liked a good nightclub, he sometimes liked a quiet one with plenty of people watching.  He liked honing his skills even if he wasn't stealing . . . well quite as much anymore. This one afforded him a view of the people coming and going along the sidewalk too.  It was a busy area, lots of restaurants, bars and a hotel.

He'd just finished ordering samosas from the waitress and turned back to his view of the street. Then did a double take.  He wasn't completely sure, they were too far away, but two people who looked a lot like Cassandra and Stone were walking into the hotel.

Interesting . . .  he had noted that Stone had mumbled the word "baby" when he woke up and maybe part of a name, clearly thinking he was somewhere else and with someone else.  Cassandra and Stone had been acting very oddly as of late.  Very aware of how close they were standing and trying really hard not to be together, sitting opposite each other instead of together.

So they were sleeping together.  Jones laughed to himself.  Oh, he was going to have some fun with this . . . .


	5. Undercover Lovers

Jacob was adjusting his bolo tie in the long bank of mirrors that marked the corridor between the men's and women's side of the Library's changing rooms. He was looking sharp if he did say so himself, looking like an oil baron from back home.  He'd seen his wife pick out a green dress from the Library's expansive wardrobe, so he'd selected a green shirt for himself.  This time, he grinned at himself in the mirror, they could pretend to be what they actually were, a couple.

He sucked in a breath as Cassandra entered the room. The dress hugged her curves in a bewitching fashion, she was so gorgeous, his girl. But the look on her face wasn't exactly what he was expecting to see.

Did he have something on him? He looked back in the mirror and back at her.

"What's wrong?  Is something ripped?"

"No, no . . ." Cassandra held up her hands, looking him over with affection. "You look so handsome. It's just um Jacob . . . I guess Jenkins didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

She bit her lip, looked sheepish. "Jenkins is posing as my date.  You're the chauffeur."

"What?" Stone's tone was thunderous.

"Well . . . Jenkins thought he could pull of the rich contributor better. Besides, he bought the ticket to the fundraiser."

"So what? He's gonna play your sugar daddy?"

"Honey . . .come on. It's just . . . the plan is once Ezekiel gets inside he's gonna lift an invitation for you. So you can come in and hey, you can wear that."

Jacob just looked so put out and Cassandra really wanted to make it better.  But the walls at the Library had eyes and ears; she'd already slipped up with term of endearment. She knew better especially in what was considered a public place in the Library.

She dropped her voice to a whisper, "Jacob, that's not fair."

"What's not?"

She shrugged softly keeping her voice almost sultry.  "I wanna kiss that look off your face, but you know we can't."

He chuckled in spite of his hurt feelings. She could always make him feel better. "Well, how about you owe me?"

She nodded.  "Do you feel better?"

"Not really, but I'll deal.  By the way, you look gorgeous just like you did on . . ." he caught himself, the walls had ears. "In Florida."

He was glad he caught himself because Ezekiel came around the corner, carrying two garment bags in his hands.  Stone wasn't sure if Jones caught any of it and the boy looked too busy to have noticed.

"Oh there you are, mate." He scoffed. "Nice threads. Too bad you gotta wear this chauffeur costume. Come on, times a wasting."

Ezekiel had indeed heard the last bit.  They hadn't had a case in Florida as far as he knew, so he filed it away for later.  Time really was flying by so he had no time right now to worry about the lovebirds.

* * *

 

Stone was still out of sorts as they began their undercover operation.  He had to admit that the car that Jenkins had produced from somewhere had been pretty sweet to drive. But otherwise . . . .

He still fruitlessly argued his case even as they arrived. He was so busy being mad that he didn't even help Cassandra out of the car. Something that would have been believable for a chauffeur to have done.

It was just maddening. Absolutely maddening.  He could certainly pull off an oil baron; he'd seen enough of them growing up.  What was worse was seeing his wife.  . . ** _his wife_** . . . bouncing along on someone else's arm, batting her eyelashes at Jenkins, of all people.  And what was with that voice?  It grated like fingernails on a chalkboard.  He'd gladly pay her to never do that voice, wherever the hell she'd gotten that from, ever again.

He was still angry when he met up with her and Jones downstairs.  She recoiled from his glare when she'd stayed in character when he brought up the paintings.  He felt momentarily bad; she probably had just gotten stuck in the part. 

But it didn't really help his mood at all.  Neither did all of the frustration of their continued bad luck in trying to locate the contract.  He was pretty sure had time not been of the essence or had Ezekiel not been there, that Cassandra would have called him out on his behavior right then. He deserved it, he was snappish and short with her.

After the contract was secured, they had to find a way out in the maze of secret passageways that ran through the building.  They'd decided to split up, counting on Ezekiel's knowledge of buildings and Cassandra's brain to lead them to safety.  Stone opted to follow Cassandra, especially when Jones took off on a sprint, hoping to confuse a security officer.

The passageway they were currently in seemed to have been not used for decades and unlikely to be known to the current team of security.  Jacob took the opportunity to slow down their pace which Cassandra, unused to running in heels, seemed to agree with.

"Baby?" he whispered.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry about today.  I'm in a bad mood and it's not fair to take it out on you.  Ain't your fault. Weren't Jenkins neither.  It made sense; I just am being an ass."

Cassandra made a soft sound. "I get it. I was a little disappointed too.  It would have been nice to openly be on your arm."

"Yeah, that's why I was upset.  You looked so beautiful and every guy in this place probably wanted to kill Jenkins."

Cassandra laughed. "You're just saying that."

"I'm not because I did," he shook his head. "I know I ain't got anything to worry about, but you lookin' all adoringly at him like that?  I was so jealous I could spit."

"Hmm," Cassandra said, stopping to look at him and blushing just a bit. "I felt that way about Mabel.  And then I felt absolutely horrible because she meant something to you."

"Poor Mabel," Stone said softly. "She deserved better. I wanted to get her to Paris. In the end, that's all I wanted was to help her. Because she helped me.  There's some stuff there that maybe you and I need to talk about when we're not trying to save the world.  But it weren't too long after that I realized who I really loved and where I belonged."

"Jacob . . . ." Cassandra looked for all the world like she was going to kiss him, timing and place be damned but as she turned her elbow hit the passageway door. "Okay," she took a deep breath remembering where she was and what was going on. "Just a left and we'll be in the lobby."

"Are we good?" he asked, touching her elbow. "When we get home, I'll make it up to you."

"Yeah, we're good.  And you know you have nothing to worry about. Sugar Rose may love her Big Daddy, but Cassandra loves you."

"Love you too."

* * *

 

They had a plan . . . well a loose rudimentary one.  They hadn't had much time after the door had slammed shut to contact Baird before the contract magic struck again and suddenly Stone's cell phone was dead.

Things were not going well.  They were all trying to have faith in Baird, but they all knew their ultimate fate as Librarians would be to sacrifice themselves to prevent other deaths.  It didn't help at all when Sesselman showed up, gloating and trying to tempt them.

Stone and Cassandra tried to not be too obvious with their shared looks of dismay.  If they were going to succumb to these fumes, it would be in each other's arms. They didn't really care about that point about Jones finding out about them.  But they weren't going to let Sessleman have anything else in his arsenal.

So when Cassandra collapsed, Stone wrapped his hands around the nearest thing he could find on the wall to prevent himself from going after her.  On the inside he was screaming, needing to go to her, but he would give the devil not an inch. 

Sessleman kept talking trying to convince them that only one of them need sign the Contract and they could all be saved.  Starved for oxygen as it was, Stone's brain was trying to cling to the rudimentary plan they'd made with Baird before the phone had died.  It had read "Last resort. Hai," which really made not a whole lot of sense to any of them in that moment.

Failing with Jones, and Stone had to give the kid credit for sticking to his guns, the devil leaned over Stone's wife's prone body.  If he had even an ounce of strength or knew it would do any good, Jacob would have kicked his ass.

Then the devil turned to him and there was a look at Cassandra and enlightenment had dawned on the devil's face.

 _No no no no_.  He had to stop this.  Sesselman seemed to sense his conflict, guessing correctly that what he'd discovered wasn't common knowledge.   But in this moment, everything clicked for Stone. What Baird had meant by her last text.  This was their last chance, they were down and seconds were left.

The only thing to do was throw a _Hail Mary_.

Seesleman vanished as Stone hit the floor.  He didn't have much strength but he tried to inch his way closer to Cassandra.  She lay silent and nearly unmoving in front of him, only the faintest movement of her chest keeping his hopes alive that she was only unconscious not . . . . _No, no, no. He wasn't even going to go there._

He barely was holding on himself, blackness creeping in the edges of his vision as he heard rather than saw Jones hit the floor.  He reached out a hand and managed to wrap it around Cassandra's ankle . . . as he lost the battle with the blackness.

The next thing he knew Jenkins was shaking his shoulder and Cassandra was coughing in the background.  He woke with a cough.

"Are you alright Mr. Stone?" Jenkins was asking.  Stone peered up at him, seeing Cassandra leaning heavily against the wall.  _Thank God she was up._

He coughed. "Yeah, yeah."

It really was mostly a blur after that.  Jenkins made them drink some horrible concoction that he assured them would make sure that the gas didn't cause any lasting damage.  Thank goodness the chupacabra had already produced a sample batch of his fantastic jerky because Stone wouldn't have been able to stomach that stuff without a jerky chaser.

Hours later and they were finally free to go home.  Neither feeling up to driving, Cassandra and Jacob took advantage of Jones not being around to take an Uber back to her apartment.  Her much more comfortable bed was calling their names, especially now that the bedding was a soothing blue and green instead of floral.

Despite being worn out, a close call was a powerful aphrodisiac and it wasn't long after they'd finally gotten home when a kiss became something more than a kiss.

A few minutes later, not having quite gotten up the stairs to the loft yet, they were making out fairly heavily on the couch.  Jacob's vest and shirt were lying on the floor and Cassandra was half out of her dress, the top having fallen when he'd unzipped the back.  She was straddling his lap and one of his hands was making its way under her skirt.

Cassandra's head was arched back, Jacob's lips attached to the skin of her neck when Cassandra's door buzzer sounded.  It was a secure building, so having the buzzer ring was an uncommon occurrence.

"Ignore it," Jacob murmured against her skin.  "They probably have the wrong apartment."

But the buzzer continued to sound and Cassandra sighed, sliding off of Jacob's lap and pulling her dress back up.  She stormed over to the intercom, slapping on the button. "Who is it?"

"Hey . . . it's Ezekiel. I wanted to talk."

Cassandra had taken her finger off the button as Jacob swore loudly behind her. She looked back at him wide eyed.  She couldn't refuse Ezekiel but having Jacob over, especially with everything . . . .

"Um, okay, sorry I was just about to take a shower. I'll buzz you in can you give me a few minutes to get a robe on?"

"Yeah, sure just it's gonna start raining any second, so can ya let me in?"

"Right, sure."

"Why the hell did you do that?" Jacob asked. "You could have told him you weren't up to seein' him!"

"I can't . . . Jacob, he said he needed to talk. That means he's upset and needs company."

"Well, uh how are we gonna explain this?"  Jacob gestured between them. Cassandra cast a quick look around the living room. She grabbed two of Jacob's books and threw them behind the pillow on the arm chair and handed Jacob a stack of his journals.

"Take your clothes and . . . uh hide."

"Hide? That's your solution? I'm your husband, not a boyfriend you're hiding' from your parents!"

"Well, do you want to tell Ezekiel?"

"No, okay, where am I gonna hide?"

"I don't know!"  Cassandra dashed back to the other room which had her closet.  She needed to get into a robe very quickly.  She threw her dress in the hamper; she'd deal with it later and threw the robe on. Her hair was a mess but maybe Jones would think it was from sleeping on the cot.

"Should I hide in the bathroom?" Jacob asked his voice sarcastic.

"He might need to use it.  Hide in the closet."

"The closet? Cassie, damn it."

Cassandra could hear Ezekiel knocking on her door. "Honey, just get in there.  I'll try to get him out as fast as I can."

"Fine," Jacob said and slammed the closet door behind him.

* * *

 

"About time, Cassandra," Ezekiel said waltzing in like he owned the place and holding a blu-ray in his hands. "Brought a movie."

"Ezekiel, I don't know if . . . ."

"Nonsense, every near death experience needs _Double Indemnity_ to get over.  I'll make the popcorn!" Ezekiel looked over at her now slip covered couch. "Huh, doing a little redecorating?"

"Yeah, I just needed a change . . . Ezekiel, why are you here?"

Ezekiel strode toward her kitchen and Cassandra really hoped there wasn't too much signs of another person living in the apartment out in the open.

"I told you, I brought a movie. Thought we could both use it."

Cassandra sent up a plea to whatever deity would grant her patience. "You said you wanted to talk.  I don't want to watch a movie. I want to take a shower." _And make love to my husband._

Ezekiel was grinning to himself.  He did indeed want to spend time with Cassandra but she was acting very out of sorts. That could possibly be explained by the events of the day.  Or by the fact that there were two coffee mugs in the sink.  It was possible that she'd just gotten backed up by dishes, but only one of them had a lipstick mark . . . .

He kinda wondered where Stone was. Could be that he was on his way over, which would be why Cassandra was trying to get rid of him.

* * *

 

Meanwhile in the closet, Jacob pushed aside one of Cassandra's many dresses, trying to get as comfortable as possible. It was hot in there.  Hot and dark and full. So very full.  Why did she need so many clothes?  How were they going to combine everything when they finally fully moved in together?

This plan of hers was insane.   He pulled out his phone, if she didn't get rid of Jones in 5 minutes, he was coming out.  He didn't even care.

* * *

 

Cassandra wondered how hot it was in that closet as she finally got Ezekiel out of her kitchen.   This was a terrible plan; she should have gotten rid of Ezekiel right from the beginning.

"Please Ezekiel, I just . . . ."She touched her forehead and immediately the boy had the grace to look a little guilty.

"Oh, I'm sorry.  Reschedule then?  I just . . . I wanted the company."  Which wasn't a lie, he had come over wanting her company.

"I know, I'm sorry Ezekiel. But today was kinda bad and I just wanna a shower and some me time. How about lunch tomorrow?"

Ezekiel wasn't firmly convinced that Cassandra wasn't getting rid of him so that she could hook up with Stone, but he also couldn't quite handle a woman looking so upset either.  So he erred on the side of her tumor legitimately acting up and took his blu-ray.  As he did, he clocked two books that were oddly behind a chair cushion though he couldn't make out the titles. That was interesting.  The two coffee mugs confirmed that she and Stone were at least hooking up, probably dating given how traditional Stone was.  But why would she hide books? And for Stone to keep books over here . . . . Now his interest was even more piqued. There was more to it then.

"Night kid, feel better."

"Thanks Ezekiel.  You too, okay?"

When he was safely gone, she double bolted the door behind her and took a deep breath.  Now to go face her husband.

"He gone?" Jacob asked, looking sweaty as she opened the closet door.

"Yeah, I played the headache card.  I'm so . . . ."

"Damn it, Cassandra! I'm your husband and I felt like I was your lover and your husband came home!"

"Well, this was all your idea! You didn't want the others to know.  This might happen, you know?  Baird and Ezekiel drop by unannounced from time to time."

Jacob sighed, defeated.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and she let her head drop to his shoulder. "I know.  We'll just have to figure out a better way of handling this."

"In the morning," she said leaning up and kissing him. He let himself sink into the kiss, deciding that what they had started on the couch hadn't completely faded. She broke off the kiss and took his hand. "Let's go to bed.  No interruptions.  Just you and me."

"Sounds perfect.  And baby?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's look for a place with bigger closets."

Cassandra laughed all the way up the stairs.


	6. Hung Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for your patience, I had some personal stuff going on that has delayed this story a bit. In "Image of Image," Stone mentions the Royal Institute but it's likely Cassandra was actually at the Royal Institution which is a historic London based organization devoted to scientific education and research.

It seemed like the perfect day.  Thanks to Jenkins, Cassandra had gotten an invite to a symposium at the Royal Institution in London.   Because Baird and Jenkins were around, Jacob had asked to tag along, intending on doing some research on Prospero while she was at the Institution.   Things had been fairly quiet at the Library, though inventory, cleanup and Ezekiel's security upgrade were still ongoing, so Baird and Jenkins had been fine with their joint visit.

They'd left in the morning, even though Cassandra's symposium was not until the late afternoon.   They fully intended on making the most of their rare chance to be a couple while technically on the clock.  They spent most of their morning touring the British Museum before having a leisurely lunch.  It was idyllic and a perfect excuse for hand holding and the occasional stolen kiss.  They parted with a kiss and went their separate ways, she to the Royal Institution and he to the RSC for an afternoon of study, with a plan to meet up afterward.

A few hours later, Stone was waiting at the appointed spot for his wife, smiling as she beamed at him and came bouncing across the street into his waiting arms.  They exchanged a brief kiss and then they walked down the street toward the Back Door slowly, talking about their days and holding hands.

"Hey, you know, we don't have to go back just yet.  How about a pint?"

"Okay," Cassandra beamed at him. 

But before they could make plans for their now date night, a scream and magic derailed their plans.

* * *

 

Jones had placed his taco order before they'd even left London so it was there within moments of him suggesting tacos.  Cassandra had taken one whiff of them and run out of the room, looking pale.  Stone kept looking back after her, a look of concern on his face.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes.  If they were still going to keep playing this game . . . .  He was about to make some sort of comment when Stone just got up and left the room.

"Well , I guess I'll eat your tacos then!" Ezekiel called to Stone's back.  Be just a little more obvious, he thought and then unwrapped a taco.

Stone found Baird and Cassandra in the hallway that lead to the restrooms, Cassandra not having quite made it to the bathroom like she planned.  Cassandra was finishing up what looked like the dry heaves and she leaned back, Baird brushing the hair back from her sweaty face.

"How is she?"

"Dry heaves, thank God.  I don't think she'd eaten, probably another reason why it's so bad for her. Poor thing."

"I've got next," Stone said, crouching down next to them.

"Really?" Baird looked a bit relieved.  To be honest, she'd been a bit distracted since their return.  Flynn had reached out via text just prior to Cassandra and Stone's return from London with the disturbing news about the club. And when she returned tonight there were photos on her desk, probably from Ray.  It was time to meet Flynn halfway. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Stone said softly. "I feel like I really dropped the ball on this case.  Least I could do is take care of Cassandra. I'll make sure she gets home safe."

"Alright," Baird nodded. "Thank you again."  She stroked Cassandra's hair once and then got up, patting Stone on the shoulder as she passed.

As soon as she was gone, Stone turned to Cassandra about to say something but noticed her face. "Let's get ya into the bathroom, okay?"

He helped her up and helped her walk the few feet into the women's room.  Despite the fact that the Library was often a dusty place, the restrooms were the cleanest he'd ever been in.  Even though no maid ever scrubbed and none of them ever attempted to clean, they always were spotless.

"Do you feel like you're gonna be sick?"

Cassandra shook her head, but wobbled a little. "I need to sit down."

"Okay,  hang on just a minute, alright?"  He made sure she was leaning against the wall and then ran over to the sink.  He grabbed a washcloth from the basket and wet it with cold water.  By that time, Cassandra had slid herself into a seated position.  He chuckled a little and joined her against the wall, pulling her onto his lap.

She gave a bit of a happy sigh and snuggled into him.  That was a good sign, he thought.  He put the cold washcloth against her forehead and she gave out a little moan.

"Oh, that feels heavenly."

"I'm sorry, baby, I know I let you down tonight."

"Mmm, why?"

"I should have been in that damn club with you!"

"Ouch," she whimpered.

"Sorry," he lowered his voice to a whisper. "I would have known something was wrong if I was there."

"It wouldn't have made a difference," Cassandra said softly. "You wouldn't have been able to make anything happen sooner.  And what's worse is . . . ."

He pressed a kiss to her cheek. "Yeah, you're right. I would have hurt you because I would've gone for his throat.  Kinda glad they didn't tell me what he'd done to you or I would have punched him harder. "

"And hurt Baird."

"Yeah."

"I told them not to tell you.  I might have said something about the smell of jasmine and golden rings too. But Baird didn't know what I was talking about."

Jacob chuckled softly. "Well, that means something to me but not to her, she wouldn't have made the connection."

"A girl at the club smelled like jasmine and I thought of our wedding  . . . ." Cassandra frowned suddenly. "I said something about bubbles and you . . . ."

"It's okay, baby, I think if Baird realized she would have said something."

"Maybe it was good you weren't there.  I kinda wanted to you know . . .married people things."

"Married people things? Oh.  You're adorable, darlin'.  I'm still upset we didn't get to finish our date night."

Cassandra frowned and snuggled in his lap a little more. "I feel horrible, Jacob."

"I know, sweetheart.  Do you think you're up to going home? I think you'd feel better if you got some sleep."

"I can't really leave in this."

"Yeah, do you have anything in your locker?"

She nodded instead of replying and took her locker key out of her bathrobe pocket.  He lifted her up to sit against the wall while he headed to the locker room. He sighed as he saw her lay face first on the floor. 

"Make sure she doesn't get some disease, will ya Ray?" he directed at the ceiling.

Baird wasn't around as he crossed through the Annex and he had a feeling Jones was long gone too. Probably with both shares of tacos.

He made his way to his wife's locker and looked for something for her to wear.  He'd seen a flash of her bra, so he knew she had underwear on under the robe, so that was taken care of. He knew that Cassandra's outfits were often complicated but he wanted to get her dressed as quickly as possible. He found a pair of grey leggings in the locker as well as a blue cardigan but the two skirts and two blouses looked too complex.  Her shoes were even more complicated. All that was in her locker were the heels from tonight, a pair of boots and another lace up pair of shoes. Her slippers were going to have to do. He'd carry her if necessary. He looked through the locker once again and gave up deciding to go to his locker to find her a tee shirt to wear.

While he was there, he decided to exchange his layers of vests for one of his more customary button-downs.  And the one item he'd had to take off to make his costume work.  Carefully nestled between two tee-shirts was his chain.  His chain that in addition to the pendant his mother had given him, now held his wedding ring. Cassandra would probably scold him for the danger of wearing it, especially since it had been his idea to not wear them publically.  But there was something about wearing something that reminded him of the two women he'd loved the most in the world next to his heart.  He rolled his eyes at himself internally.  Another thing that Jones could never know, just what a hopeless romantic he really was.

Always had been but Cassandra was the only one who knew about that aspect of him.  Which frankly was the way it should be.

Speaking of Jones, he didn't hear the thief come in until after he'd tucked the necklace out of sight and grabbed an oversized tee-shirt.

"Whatcha doing, Stone?"

"Changing so I can go home, Jones. Figured you'd taken all the tacos and went home."

"Nah, just finished them. Well, actually I left Cassandra a chicken one. So if you're changing, how come you're got clothes in your hands?"

Stone took a deep breath, noting that his shirt was on top of the stack and it was all folded. "Taking some stuff home.  Didn't know I had to answer to you when I decide to switch out my wardrobe."

Jones rolled his eyes and held up his hands, "whatever, mate.  I'm hitting the showers. See ya."

"Yeah," Stone grumbled and walked out.

Ezekiel peeked around the corner when Stone was gone. He thought about going through the other man's locker but he kinda figured Stone had taken anything incriminating out and his underwear might be . . . .Ezekiel shuddered. Yeah, he'd got more than enough from that little exchange. Stone was quite obviously carrying women's clothes along with his own. And to make things more interesting, Jones had caught a flash of gold on that chain.  Which was odd because he'd come across Stone in the locker room before and he was pretty sure the pendant on that chain was silver.

Ezekiel shrugged and went to take a shower, letting the pieces of the puzzle sit for now.

* * *

 

 Jacob returned to his wife carrying her clothes and a bottle of water.

"Here, drink that," he said handing her the bottle. "Did you take anything for your head?"

Cassandra took a big gulp of water before nodding.  Jacob cautioned her to sip slower or she'd throw up again. "Baird told me to just take aspirin instead of my usual headache pills. I don't think there's actually any alcohol in my system but she said better to be safe."

"She's right, so we'll treat it just like a regular hangover."

She took several more sips of water before looking at him over the top of her sunglasses. "Do you have a magic hangover cure?"

He chuckled softly. "There ain't no magic cure. Well maybe there is, but Jenkins would've said. And I don't have a surefire cure.  Rest, water, Gatorade.  Maybe for you some toast and peppermint tea."

"Mmm peppermint.  And sleep. Sleep."

"Yeah, baby, let's get ya changed okay?"

"Okay."

Cassandra seemed to be slightly perked up by the water, so she was able to change without too much of a fuss.  He got her another water to drink on the way home, opting to head to his place instead of hers.  It was a practical choice for today.  Her building was bright and cheerful and often bustling.  His was quiet and woodsy.  Especially his side where he'd been blessed with quiet neighbors.  He did have to go a little out of his way so they could take the elevator instead of the stairs which were closer.  But with Cassandra wearing slippers he didn't want to chance her falling and he wasn't going to carry her up 3 flights if he didn't have to.

Eventually after she'd been able to hold down toast and some tea.  He'd gotten her into bed.  Since she was as cuddly hung over as apparently she'd been drunk and Jacob was exhausted by the long day, he joined her.  And they went to sleep with hopes that she'd be feeling better in the morning.

* * *

 

Ezekiel was sitting on the couch in his apartment, bowl of popcorn sitting on the end table next to him.  His laptop was sitting on his lap. He reached over to put his soda back on the table and grabbed a handful of popcorn.

On the screen was a document with a bulleted list of words that included the words hotel, books and ended with Florida followed by a question mark. Jones grabbed another handful of popcorn and chewed, contemplating his list.

Suddenly like a light bulb had gone off above his head, Jones was pulling up another program and his fingers fell across the keys.  First he stared at his results, then a smirk crossed his face before he threw his head back and laughed.

"The trouble with this," he said out loud to no one. "Is that now I have to wait for the perfect moment."

He bit his lip in thought and then shrugged and grabbed his phone to order a pizza.


	7. More Scenes from a Marriage

Cassandra had a stack of magazines spread out on a table upstairs in the Annex section.  It was a quiet day and she was doing some home decor research.  She figured that was one thing related to her marriage that she could do openly at the Library without anyone being the wiser.  It totally was justifiable that she'd be redecorating her place, married or not.  

She and Jacob had come up with a short list of ideas for decor that meshed their two styles.  She'd been leaning toward the Impressionists, art for Jacob while still colorful and full of flowers and nature for her but in a more subtle way.

She was frowning at her tablet and comparing a swatch to a painting on the screen when a soft voice over her shoulder said, "the other one, it's closer to the paint color."  She grinned as her husband's hand came up to slide the swatch over and his lips briefly touched her ear.

"Jacob," she warned softly, resisting the desire to turn into his embrace.

"No one's around," he shrugged, kissing her ear one more time before sitting next to her. "Jenkins and Baird are in the Library and Ezekiel left out the Portland door a half hour ago. Said something about lunch.  Which actually sounds good right about now if you're in."

"It's a quiet day," Cassandra mused holding up another swatch.

"That for the dining room? If so, pick the darker one."

"Yes and yes, good eye," she grinned. "Anyway, it's quiet, wanna go to that little sandwich shop and then poke around the vintage decor shop across the street?"

"Absolutely," Jacob took a quick look around and kissed her, not much more than a peck.  Then he helped her gather up her stuff and they headed out.

Feeling a little daring, they held hands as they left the Annex.  Neither noticed Ezekiel in the shadows, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

* * *

 

"And you can't talk her out of going to a movie?" Stone asked sighing as he started picking up his things in the living room.  The longer they were married the more careless they had become with leaving their things around their apartments. Especially as more and more they'd come to live in Cassandra's place. It was the one being decorated first, so Jacob had been there often to move furniture and hang photos and help paint.

"I tried," Cassandra sighed. "She's not really in the mood to go out.  Which means something is happening with Flynn. But she won't talk about it.  She'll want to watch a chick flick and eat ice cream and talk about everything **but** Flynn."

Baird and Cassandra had girl's night at least once a month.  Cassandra had enjoyed them at first because she hadn't really ever had that sort of a friendship.  And even now that she was married, she still liked going out with Baird.  But she'd always managed to talk Baird into going out on those nights, to a bar or a restaurant or a movie, once even to karaoke.  But not tonight.

"She won't go into the bedroom.  Your stuff is out of the bathroom?"

"Yeah, well I have a toothbrush but do you think she'll look in the cabinets? Cuz I can put that away. There's some soap in the shower, but she won't see that. Everything else is at my place cuz I ran out of my spare stuff."

They'd been spending the last couple of nights at his place since the paint was drying in the bedroom, which did make the cleanup a little easier.

"And you tried with the paint smell?" he asked, putting the rest of his things that he didn't need for the night in a non-descript box in the coat closet.

"Yeah but it doesn't smell any more anyway.  I'm sorry, honey."

"It's okay, baby. I know you need these nights out. And you know how I feel about Baird. Wish she'd talk to us, but if you can help her with Flynn in any way. . . ."

She nodded and crossed over to him, putting her arms around him. "You probably should head out before she gets here. I love you."

He leaned over and kissed her. "Love you too.  I'll miss you tonight but I am still a bit wiped from the last case so if she's late I probably won't come over."

She nodded.  Every once in a while they still slept apart, usually because of the nature of their work.  "Alright," she kissed him one last time. "Okay, go before we get caught."

He chuckled and grabbed his bag and headed out.  She figured he probably took the back stairs just in case.

As predicted, Baird was sitting on Cassandra's sofa, absolutely not talking about Flynn.  She was talking about everything but Flynn and Cassandra did wonder why they'd even bothered putting a movie on if the other woman was going to talk through it all.  But she knew that Baird needed this.  And she had come to know some of the subjects that seemed to not be about Flynn on the surface actually were.

She had just finished swallowing a sip of her beer when Baird said, "so how about you? How are things with Stone?"

Cassandra was glad she'd swallowed. She froze, her eyes wide.  What did Baird know?  Luckily Baird was looking down at the popcorn tin she'd brought with her and was gathering up a handful.  By the time Baird looked over at her, Cassandra had managed to somewhat school her face into what she hoped was confusion.

"What about me and Stone?" she really hoped that her voice hadn't squeaked but she was afraid it had.

Baird shrugged. "Things seem good between the two of you.  Issues all over?"

"Oh," Cassandra grinned. "Yeah, yeah, things are fine. You were right he came around."

Baird smiled knowingly. "Told you he would.  Stone's a good man. Sees things a little too simple sometimes but he's a good man. Now that he's found himself, maybe . . . ."

"Maybe what?" Cassandra asked carefully.

Baird shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just saying there's a sweet girl who lives in my building that might be his type.  He was so broken up over that archivist, was thinking though maybe by now he might be interested in seeing someone."

Cassandra felt a course of rage fly through her and she dove for popcorn to cover up her shaking hands. She ate a couple and then carefully said, "I don't think Stone is the type that would go for a blind date or a setup."

Baird nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right."

"And I'm not either, whatever you're thinking."  Cassandra's tone was a bit harsher than she expected.  Baird blinked and then changed the subject.

Baird didn't bring up Stone or setups or dates for the rest of the evening and things seemed to be back to normal by the time she'd finally left.

It was late but Cassandra called her husband anyway.

"So then she asked how things were going with us! I nearly choked."

"What?"

"Well it turns out she was talking about us working together. So I said it was fine. Then she decided she wanted to set you up with some girl in her building."

"Oh God . . . ."

"I talked her out of that, but oh honey, I was so furious I nearly blew it."

"Well, I'm not sure I would have handled her telling me that she wanted to set you up with someone any better."

"I hate this."

"I know you do.  I just don't know how to tell them."

"And with Baird and Flynn still trying to work things out between them. I did get a little out of her that he'd been texting and they are trying to work it out.  But I don't want to rub it in her face right now either. Or add to her worry. Not with Prospero and the Library still healing."

"We'll figure it out. I promise. Do you want me to come over?"

"Yeah, I kinda do."

"Then I'll be there in a few."

* * *

 

 "Hey honey," Cassandra said one lazy Sunday morning.  It was a nice day and they took their morning beverages out onto the porch swing on her balcony. "I was wondering how you wanted to handle Thanksgiving and Christmas."

Jacob sighed. "Well, two years ago I would have told you I had Thanksgiving at my sister's and you know about my Christmases."

"But this year?" she asked gently.

"Well, given that was the sister I had that fight with, I'm thinkin' I ain't invited to Thanksgiving. My other sister Bess goes to her husband's folks every year.  Funny enough, I don't remember where any of the rest of you went for Thanksgiving."

"We all went to a restaurant actually.  Ezekiel doesn't celebrate but since the Library was paying he went for the food.  Baird's parents and brothers all live overseas so she doesn't get a chance to see them. And I well . . .I haven't seen my parents in years.  So Jenkins took us to a lovely restaurant for dinner.  Probably be invited again this year.  Maybe Flynn will be back?"

"Maybe," Jacob smiled softly. "Maybe by then will know how to tell them about us."

"Yeah . . ." Cassandra took another sip of her tea. "And Christmas? I mean provided Santa doesn't need us to save Christmas again?"

"Well, honestly baby, I'd rather spend Christmas with you, doin' whatever it is you do besides deckin' the halls and dressin' like a merry elf."

Cassandra giggled. "Well, honestly, I didn't make it to New York but my old roommates and I usually do volunteer work and then have a party. Odd though . . . ." Cassandra frowned slightly. "None of them called to wonder where I was."

"Cassie. . . ."

Cassandra blinked away the tears. "No, I'm okay.  This is my home now.  With you.  And with my new family, big sister Baird, annoying little brother Ezekiel, absentee uncle Flynn and whatever Jenkins is."

"This is my home too.  I know the picture I painted of my home, but underneath it all, you know I ain't been happy in years.  It's different now. You and me.  We'll . . .hey, we'll decorate both our places! Bet you'd like that."

Cassandra beamed.  "And we'll make a nice dinner.   And watch Christmas movies and drink egg nog."

"Best Christmas ever," Jacob grinned, sliding over to kiss her.  One little kiss became several more and then Cassandra was suggesting they stop giving the neighbors a show and take it into their bedroom.

* * *

 

"There is no getting through to that boy," Stone was grousing as he and Cassandra pulled away from the Annex.  Cassandra's car was in the shop and it wasn't that unusual for Stone to give her a ride anyway, so they just continued as normal.  "You'd think he'd be at least be grateful that we saved his life."

"He's just confused.  Apparently a lot happened to him today. Plus he's Ezekiel." Cassandra shrugged. "Where do you want to go eat?"

"Let's do some grocery shopping, I feel like making something."

They were waiting at the butcher counter when Cassandra remembered she was out  of her favorite seltzer.

"It's faster if you wait here and I just go and get it. Then we can leave when we're done back here."

Jacob nodded and requested a bottle of Dr. Pepper.

Cassandra had her pack of seltzer under her arm and was just grabbing Jacob's Dr. Pepper when a voice came over her shoulder.

"Well, hullo Cassandra."

Cassandra winced but Ezekiel luckily didn't see her face. She turned around schooling her features into a smile. "Ezekiel! What brings you here?"

"I was stocking up on snacks and saw you over here.  Don't you need a trolley?"

"Oh, uh I was just . . ." Cassandra stammered while Ezekiel tried really hard not to laugh. "I really should get one!"

Ezekiel smirked. "Let me help you with that."

Before Cassandra could protest further, Ezekiel was getting her a shopping cart. He was being unusually helpful which kinda worried Cassandra.  She tried her hardest to keep him in the front of the store, hoping her husband didn't finish up at the meat counter and come looking for her.

Ezekiel didn't seem to be showing any signs at all of leaving her even though she kept dropping hints about needing to get back to her shopping.  She glanced over his shoulder once and hoped she didn't pale when she saw Jacob coming up an aisle, looking a bit confused.  Her husband's eyes widened when he saw who she was talking to and he quickly moved into an aisle.

Cassandra was truly stuck between a rock and a hard place.  Ezekiel wasn't going to leave and she couldn't risk him seeing Jacob.  Nor could she safely text Jacob to come up with some sort of cover story.

"You know I didn't see . . . "Ezekiel was starting to say when his phone buzzed. "Oh hey, I gotta go." He smirked again at her. "Catch ya later, Cassandra."

"Bye Ezekiel."

When she saw him heading toward the registers with his purchases, she took a deep breath and wheeled the cart toward where she hoped Jacob was hiding.

"That was close," she said when she got to him.

"Well who the hell thought Jones actually went to a store? I figured he got everything delivered."

"I feel like . . . ."

"What? Do you think he suspects? I've gotten that impression too. That kid likes to stick his nose in where it doesn't belong far too much."

"I don't know. He could have just been acting weird cuz of today. I don't know.  Let's give him 10 minutes and then go home."

* * *

 

Stone though was really concerned about Jones' behavior especially as he began piecing it together.  He decided to confront the Australian at work the next day.

But it wasn't too long after they'd all assembled that morning when the clippings book went off.

Something strange was happening in the town of Cicely, Washington.


	8. Perfect Lives

Jacob Stone drove his motorcycle down the quiet country lane that lead to the house he shared with his wife.  It was a beautiful day and somehow he'd managed to get out of his classes to get home early enough to surprise Cassandra with dinner.

Since coming to Cicely, he was always surprised that the island was large enough to have a rural area.  But here it was, their sprawling yet modern farmhouse sitting on acres of land where Cassandra's never ending collection of ponies and cats could have plenty of room to frolic.

Though, he bit his lip as he pulled into the drive, weren't the ponies pastured by the bar today? He shrugged, she had so many that he possibly was confused.  Where she found the time to care for them, he never knew.

His day passed by, like so many of them did, in such a blur.  He knew he had taught class today, been in an important conference call about the discovery of a new pyramid.  But he still had plenty of time to get home and spend an evening with his beautiful wife.

He hummed as he puttered around their gourmet kitchen, pulling the freshest ingredients, that he honestly didn't quite remember buying,  out of their fully stocked refrigerator and pantry.

He was a such a lucky man, he'd dedicated his life to learning and preserving history.  He taught in eleven different departments at one of the top universities in the United States and lived in a lovely house with the love of his life.

Cassandra.   She was a true American hero and even now she was inspiring another generation of youngsters to follow in her footsteps.  She was sweet and kind and gorgeous.  And she was his wife. His mind was blown away every time he thought about that.  Even though for some reason, he never could quite remember how they met.  It was so odd . . . .

Why couldn't he remember?  Even their wedding day was a bit of a haze, though his sisters had told him that often happened.  But before he could ponder too much, he could hear the crunch of tires on the driveway.

And if he'd been near a mirror, he would have seen his eyes momentarily glow a different shade of blue than normal  . . . .

"Jacob?"

"In the kitchen, darlin'," he called, concentrating once again on making dinner. 

"Oh, something smells wonderful," Cassandra said walking into the kitchen and setting her bags on a chair.  She'd been in a meeting today, so instead of her usual "explorer" garb as he'd dubbed it, she was wearing a dark green blazer and matching skirt.  It wasn't completely alien though, as she was wearing a colorfully printed blouse and an assortment of pins along with her moon rock necklace.  Her long straight hair tickled his shoulder as she kissed him.  He had a brief flash of a memory of her with curly hair.  That was odd, though he knew she straightened it.  But she always had . . . .

"What's the matter?" she asked, pulling away with a frown.

"Oh, I think I'm just tired.  Like I swore the ponies were down in town today and yet there they are."

She chuckled, though for a moment a wave of confusion passed across her face. She shook her head. "Well, you're a very busy man. How did the call go?"

"Oh!"  And he launched into an excited description of the discovery of a new pyramid and how he was just negotiating to be the first one through the door.  Then he asked her about her meeting and she excitedly told him about how they loved her idea for a second television show.

They had a wonderful evening, just like most evenings.

But that night, Cassandra wandered downstairs for a snack, she passed by one of their wedding photos. Their wedding anniversary was in a couple of days and she stopped to study the photo.   It had all been a haze, such a big fancy wedding which really seemed so not very them.  But they both were celebrities after a fashion, she was a household name but in the academic world, Jacob Stone was just as much so.  Her producers had even tried to get them both to do a tv series together but Jacob had been too busy traveling to protect World Heritage sites to do so.

Even though she never really remembered them spending a night apart even though she knew he was frequently gone.

And why did she have memories of jasmine and an ocean breeze?

She bit her lip shaking her head. Their honeymoon, of course, there was a jasmine vine on their bungalow on the beach . . . .

And if she'd looked in a mirror, she would have seen her eyes glow a different shade of blue than normal.

* * *

 

Jacob was getting ready to take his wife out for their anniversary.  The weird part was that he could have sworn they hadn't been married long enough to have gotten to an anniversary. But at the same time, it felt like they'd been married for years.  He shook his head at himself in the mirror, they'd been married for a while, he just lost track of the years, men did that he'd heard.  He just wouldn't mention that he'd forgotten to Cassandra.  His eyes widened when he realized what else he'd forgotten.

He was still on the phone when Cassandra came in from the bathroom, looking as beautiful as always.

He took a deep breath and name dropped his wife.  She smirked at him, realizing what he was doing. "8pm? Thank you very much."

"You forgot to make a reservation," she giggled at him as he hung up.

"Yeah, guilty. You know I wouldn't have thought the Green Door would be all booked up on a Wednesday night when it's not a holiday or the height of the tourist season."

"It's a famous restaurant, the best in the Pacific Northwest . . . " Cassandra shrugged. "The chef is known for being a bit odd despite being a genius, sometimes he limits tables in order to provide the very best."

"Well, how about we go down to our bar and for a stroll around town before dinner?"

"Sounds perfect.  I wanted to take a look at that last case anyway."

"Baby . . . ."

"I know, I know, I'm not working! I'm just looking!"

He laughed taking her hand. "I have heard that one before."

* * *

 

At the bar, Stone came up with a bottle of champagne and they raised their glasses.

"Here's to our . . ."Jacob still couldn't remember what number it was and Cassandra was looking expectantly at him. "Our anniversary."

She giggled but she didn't enlighten him as to how many it was.  He didn't know it was because she couldn't quite remember herself.  Which was really odd, given her memory.  Things had been hazy and odd lately.  She wondered if space travel had an effect on one's memories. That was probably it.  She would bring it up with her next check in with the doctors.  That would be valuable information for the space program.

They clinked glasses and took a sip before exchanging a kiss.  Cassandra noticed her husband seemed a bit preoccupied.

"What's the matter, honey?"

"Oh, nothing.  I was just thinking."

"Work? We promised."

"No, I was thinking about how we met."

"Oh . . . ."Cassandra's voice trailed off in puzzlement.  It was almost as if he was asking her if she knew.  And for the moment she was having trouble grabbing hold of that memory.  Oddly she kept seeing flashes of a city library and an elevator.

Library . . .no it was an office building, wasn't it?  Something was floating into her memory.

"It was in DC," she said softly.

He nodded, a memory floating into his mind.  "We both had a meeting in the same building, different floors. Damned if I remember where I was going, but you pretty much were something I'd never forget."

Cassandra blushed prettily in front of him, but he wondered why in his head he was remembering a Cassandra with curls trying to fade into the walls.  Not the vibrant always present woman he'd met that day in DC.

"And our wedding in Florida .  . . ."Jacob trailed off looking puzzled as Cassandra looked shocked.

"We got married in Houston," Cassandra said, thinking she should be mad, but somehow Florida sounded right.

"Right, yes, I have no idea what I'm talkin' about. Sorry darlin', I had six classes today."

"Aww, you poor thing," Cassandra cooed.  Completely forgetting his faux pas, they melted together on the other side of the bar.

"There's the happy couple!" came Sheriff Baird's booming voice.

Cassandra giggled as she broke away from the kiss. "I'm sorry Eve, we shouldn't be doing this in the bar."

"Nonsense!" Baird flapped her hands. "You're Cicely's perfect couple!"

"Oh, c'mon Baird," Stone grumbled. "Stop it."

"But it's true!" Baird walked behind the bar, grabbing a beer. "We have Cassandra Cillian, American hero, tv star.  And Jacob Stone, academic rock star.  You're both inspiring and teaching our youth and preserving our past and present.  You're like Bradgelina without the drama."

"And the herd of kids," Cassandra mumbled.

"Well, you're both busy people, plenty of time to have a couple of smart, beautiful babies!"

"Um yeah," Cassandra blushed again and Stone thought it was the best time to rescue his bride.

"We should probably get going, had to name drop to even get a table tonight, do not want to be late. We'll see ya later, Sheriff."

"Alright, have a fantastic evening!" Baird turned to some people entering the bar. "Paul! Jonathan! Rebecca! Come on in!  We're having a drink special in honor of Commander Cillian and Professor Stone's wedding anniversary!"

"We are?" Cassandra asked.

"Why not?" Baird asked, taking up her place behind the bar. "Now, shoo, shoo."

"Stop messin' up our profits!" Stone called as Cassandra pushed him out from behind the bar.

"Agent Jones'll be in here next givin' everyone a free round." Jacob grumbled.

"Now, now, honey, let's stop being so grumpy. It's a beautiful night."

He grinned at her, "always a beautiful night in Cicely."

"Yeah, it is." She smiled at him, leaning on his arm. "It's so wonderful here.  My trips to the Moon were amazing but I love this life I have here now with you.  Our farm and our ponies and the cats."

They fell into comfortable silence, Cassandra occasionally smiling or waving at people they passed.

Jacob was thinking about something Baird had said.  There had been a yearning in him, a yearning for something that he just didn't have.  He couldn't explain it, he had everything he'd ever dreamed of: a job he loved, respect in academic circles, great friends, a beautiful loving wife.  But yet something was missing.  So maybe . . .yes, a child!  That had to be what he was yearning for.

He turned to Cassandra. "I kinda wanted to ask you . . . .I know we're really busy people right now and maybe the timing ain't right. But would a baby be in our future?"

Cassandra stopped suddenly. There was a reason why a baby wasn't something she wanted.  Something about not really liking them and something about her  . . . . Health? That made no sense. She was an astronaut, they had to be in the tops for health.  She just didn't like babies, that was it. But she did love little kids.  And there had been this yearning inside of her. She hadn't been able to explain it.  The feeling that something was missing in her life.  A child . . .that had to be it.  She and Jacob were in love and they could provide a needy child the best life possible.

"We're so busy.  But I have been yearning for something more.  We have so much to offer to a child who needs a home.  Maybe we should look into adoption again? We got those packets but then we've been so busy."

Jacob suddenly remembered the packets arriving to their home. "We would be the perfect family for a child who really needs us. This is a great place for a kid."

"It is," Cassandra agreed.  "Maybe a slightly older child, you know, potty trained."

Jacob laughed. "I hated changing my sister's kids. I totally agree."

"I have felt like something is missing in our lives, you know." Cassandra said softly.

"Yeah, me too. We have such great jobs and a great home and each other.  But maybe a child is what's missing?"

She smiled softly.  "Maybe that's what that yearning is."

He put his arms around her and kissed her softly. "Then we'll look back into adoption. I'm sure we will have no trouble at all. Not with everything we have going for us."

"Yeah," she kissed him back. "Now let's spend the rest of the evening concentrating on us."

"I love the sounds of that.  Let's go have our dinner."

But what they didn't know was that their perfect little idyllic life wasn't exactly what it seemed. And that in a couple of days, they'd have to chose between reality or their happily ever after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't worry we will be returning to Cicely next chapter . . . .


	9. A Stranger Comes to Cicely

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience waiting for this next chapter. I got caught up in Christmas and writing the Advent List and doing the things for 12 Days of Jassandra, this got put on the back burner for a while. Hope you enjoy!

Flynn Carsen was having a very weird day.  And that was saying a lot from a man who had been the Librarian for over a decade.  It started fairly normally for him, at least, but then Jenkins seemed to have no knowledge of the other Librarians or their Guardian.  Then the clippings book went absolutely mental and sent him to a small town on an island in the Puget Sound.

A small town where his Eve was the local sheriff and seemingly had no knowledge of who he was or her life as Guardian.  The Library had worked its magic and she was under the impression that he was investigating the disappearance of a local landmark.  So for the moment, he was treating this like any case and she any local.  Then a motorcycle whizzed by, a pretty young thing in the sidecar.  Jacob Stone was revealed to be the motorcyclist.

"Thanks for the ride Professor Stone!" the girl called as she got out.  Stone didn't even seem to give her a second glance as he turned to greet Eve warmly.  Eve had mentioned a team, so Stone and Eve were working together, somehow.  . . .

Stone was introduced as a college professor, teaching in eleven departments at a supposedly prestigious university that Flynn was almost certain did not actually exist.  Baird was droning on and on trying to list all of Stone's departments but Flynn was too busy trying to solve the puzzle to listen.

They went inside what seemed to be a bar but it was full of books.  Flynn could hear a familiar voice speaking but was busy gaping at the decor while Eve was shooing two customers away.

"Commander Cassandra Cillian-Stone, this is Flynn Carsen.  Commander Cillian-Stone is our local physicist,  astronaut and tv star! Cassandra Cillian, science explorer! The kids love her."

Flynn gaped at her as she talked about her impossible flights with NASA.  Then something else registered, especially when Stone walked around the back of the bar to stand next to her and slid an arm casually around her waist.

"Wait, did you say Cillian-Stone?"

"Yep," Stone said with a grin, pausing to kiss Cassandra lightly on the lips while Flynn tried and failed to remember to close his mouth.  "My wife."

"But . . ."Flynn blinked rapidly. "You're not married."

"Uh,"  Stone raised his eyebrows and looked at Flynn like he was a mental case and Cassandra looked shocked. "I'm pretty sure we are.  The President was at our wedding."

"The President was at your wedding . . . ."Flynn muttered.  "I need to sit down."

It just got worse and worse from there.  Ezekiel Jones, of all people, was introduced as an FBI Agent.  Moriarity was the town's mayor and far, far worse from Flynn's point of view, he was Eve's boyfriend.

He had to find out what was going on and he needed to do it now.

* * *

 

"Cassandra, you spent the first part of your life invisible . . . ."

Memories started floating around Cassandra: her childhood spent devoted to study, never really being a child.  Her brain tumor . . .the death sentence in her head . . .but the world of the Library that offered her a chance to bring meaning to the years that she had left.  The life she was finally, finally leading, doors opening to her that once were closed.  She wasn't an astronaut, she'd never owned a pony, but she was a Librarian and somehow that was the answer to every question she'd ever had. Memories of Jacob, him noticing her when no one else had, falling in love slowly and surely, a proposal in a moment of passion and not the over the top public wedding ceremony but a romantic secret one in a Floridian garden.

"Mr. Stone, you are five of the world's foremost art historians . . . ."

Suddenly the fog lifted around Stone.  He remembered a life of secrets and lies, of hard work, but moments of brilliance, becoming an art expert through sheer force of will and genius.   Of a bar fight that lead him home.  Home to the Library, the place he belonged. He didn't teach in 11 departments but he was a Librarian and it was the best choice he'd ever made.  And Cassandra, the woman who'd gotten past his defenses, who was the only one to have ever gained, lost and regained his trust.  She was his wife, in every version of reality.

"So what do you say guys? Do you want your real lives back?"

Stone cleared his throat.  "Any way I can talk to my . . .to Cassandra?"

"We're talking right now," Flynn said perplexed. 

Baird rolled her eyes, sounding like her old self, "Flynn, they think they're married.  You're asking them to make a big sacrifice."

"Oh . . ."Flynn looked pained. "I forgot."

"Right, so can we talk, somewhere alone?" Stone's patience was being tried.

"Of course, you can talk in my lab," Jenkins said suddenly, ushering them forward into another room.  It felt very familiar to Cassandra, yet strange at the same time.

There wasn't any place to sit but it didn't really matter.  They stood in the middle of the room locked in a tight embrace.

"I don't . . ." Jacob buried his face in her hair briefly before pulling back to look at her. "I don't know what to think Cassie."

"I know," she sighed. "I have two sets of memories now and they don't really intersect. Except on one thing."

"Yeah, me too.  Except, I think we're married in our real lives.  But they don't seem to know that."

"Do you remember our wedding? Not the one in Houston.  I remember a garden in Florida and jasmine."

He nodded slowly, a smile flitting across his face. "You were wearing a yellow sundress.  I asked you to marry me the day I told you I loved you. And you said yes, let's run away."

"I always wondered why you wear your ring on that chain around your neck. I once asked and you said it was because you didn't want to lose it when you were excavating. Or why I don't wear one at all.  But there's a reason . . .oh Jacob, why does my head hurt?"

"She . . .the fairy said that it's tryin' to pull us back in. It's tryin' right now.  But we're married, Cassandra. We're not losing our happily ever after, we can be strong."

"I love you, Jacob," Cassandra said, reaching up to kiss him.

"I love you too, baby."

They stood like that, still holding each other, for several more heartbeats, their foreheads pressed together.  They knew now that they were still together but even so it meant giving up their open loving relationship and going back to a weighty secret.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Jacob asked softly. "We have a beautiful life on the island. We could have a family, be happy."

"It isn't real," Cassandra sniffled. "And the yearning we feel, you know, I don't think it's for a baby. It's for this place."

Jacob kissed her forehead. "You're right, I feel at home here."

"At peace, this is our home. Where we belong. We'll make our happy home here. We're Librarians, Jacob."

He kissed her one last time and then backed out of the embrace. " Let's go tell Flynn that we're ready."

"So you guys are good?" Flynn asked.

Cassandra and Jacob stood apart, ready to face the reality that they would no longer be openly married. But to the others, it seemed like they were willing to give that up.

"You're willing to give up your marriage?" Baird asked, still befuddled.

"We want our real lives back," Cassandra said. "This is not real and I don't like feeling like this."

Stone only nodded, staying silent.

"Then let's go over the plan," Flynn said.

* * *

 

They were staring up at the ley lines and Baird cleared her throat.

"Okay, so we're clear. Everyone feel back to normal?"

"I have a real urge to steal something right now," Jones huffed. "FBI agent? Really?"

Baird rolled her eyes. "And Jenkins you know who we are?"

"Of course I do, Colonel but I feel like it's necessary to point out that we're in danger."

Baird ignored him and looked over at Cassandra and Stone. "And you two, you don't think you're married?"

Stone opened and closed his mouth.  Cassandra piped up, "With all due respect, Colonel Baird, Mr. Jenkins is right.  We really need to focus on what Prospero is up to."

"Yeah, I agree with Cassandra."

"Right, yeah.  But first I need a shower. What is the deal with this hair?"

She and Jones followed Flynn and Jenkins into the Annex, both of them complaining about their attire.  Cassandra and Stone hung back a bit, waiting until the others were inside.

"I'm not sure I would have been able to give that up if we weren't actually together," Cassandra admitted.

Stone nodded, glancing at the doorway and risking taking her hand in his. "I have to admit that it was nice to not have to keep this a secret.  But maybe we should tell them after we find out what Prospero is up to."

She bit her lip and then nodded. "Yeah, I think it's time. But . . ."she looked up at the ley lines and he followed her line of sight.

"Yeah, that's more important.  Let's go save the world."

"Every week, twice before Friday." 

"Wouldn't change it for anything."


	10. Truth Comes Out

Jacob stared at the ceiling, lying in bed in the dark.  It was the same every night since Flynn and Baird had gotten trapped in the past. Sometimes he pretended to be asleep when Cassandra finally came in, if she ever did. They couldn't go on like this and he didn't know what to do.  What comfort could he offer her when his own heart was breaking so?

He looked over at the clock and sighed.  He got up and headed down the steps from the loft to Cassandra's office.  She was sitting this time on the floor, her arms wrapped around her knees, the tell tale trace of tears across her face.

"Baby, c'mon.  You need to sleep."

She rocked slightly, "I can't . . .I can't figure it out, Jacob. Why can't I figure it out?"

Jacob sighed and crouched down next to her. "Because . . .because sometimes we can't fix things. Sometimes there are just no more answers."

"I can't . . .we can't just leave them there!"

"I know," Jacob put a hand on her back and this time instead of stiffening like she had been doing at his attempts at comfort, she sagged into him. "Trust me, Cassie, if there was anything in the world that could bring them back, I'd be the first person there getting it.  We've looked."

"What are we going to do?" Cassandra moved so she was tucked under his chin and he cradled her in his arms.

"We do what Baird and Flynn wanted us to do.  We're Librarians.  We do what we've always done. Though it would be nice if the clippings book went off and actually gave us jobs to do."

Cassandra sniffled.  "Without a Guardian?"

"Flynn didn't have one for years. I'll . .. I'll do the best I can.  And so will you. And Jones. But Cassandra, right now I'm worried about you.  Please, please come to bed.  Let me take care of you. Can you let me?"

Cassandra lifted her head and looked at him, hearing the pleading in his voice. She'd been so wrapped up in her own grief that she'd not noticed his.  They all had a complicated relationship with Flynn, though they all owed him a debt.  But Baird was like a big sister and best friend to both of them.  Jacob's way of coping was trying to do Baird's job.  She only nodded, not trusting her voice.

He got her into bed and she immediately clung to him.  Some nights she'd cry herself to sleep in his arms.  This was one of those nights.  And it was one of the nights where she was pretty sure that he was crying too.  Though tonight she wondered if the tears were all for Baird . . . .

* * *

 

"Ah, Mr. Stone, would you mind helping me out with inventory?" Jenkins asked, walking into the room with a large book in his hands.

"Gladly," Stone said eagerly, moving to stand up. "I need something to do since the clippings book has been so silent.  Takes my mind offa things."

Jenkins nodded sadly, spreading a blueprint out on the table in front of them. "And how are the others? I have not seen much of them."

Stone sighed through his nose. "Jones is pretendin' to be fine. You know the whole "I'm Ezekiel Jones" bit he does.  Ain't foolin' anyone really."

"And Mrs. Stone?"

Stone froze.  He looked up from the blueprint to meet Jenkins' eyes. "I should have realized nothing gets past you here."

Jenkins' face briefly twisted into a smile. "You neglected to remove your wedding ring upon your return from Florida some months ago. If I am not mistaken it is the same ring that you have on the chain around your neck.  As for Mrs. Stone, I was not completely sure that she was your bride until I obtained those symposium tickets for her.  The two of you were less than discreet about your plans that day."

"Yeah," Stone muttered, a fond smile crossing his face. "At any rate, my wife . . . .Jenkins, can I ask you for advice?"

"Well, I cannot say that I have ever entered into matrimony. . . ."

"No, it's not a . . .well I suppose if it keeps going like this it might become a marital issue.  She's grievin'.  Which you know, I am too.  But I can't seem to comfort her.  And I don't know what to do any more.  She's not fine. It's breakin' my heart.  She won't sleep, she won't eat. She's killin' herself tryin' to save them.  And Jenkins, we all know her health is only stable, I don't wanna lose her too."

Jenkins looked solemn, shaking his head. "I could give you some herbal blends that might help her sleep.  But time is the only healer we have.  Time and acceptance. And . . ." Jenkins looked over at the book. "Perhaps work would help her.  But if you wish, I could have a talk with her."

Stone shrugged. "Maybe it would help.  I think I made some progress with her last night, but perhaps I'm just too close.  Anyway, I suppose I need to take care of myself I have any hope of helping her.  So what section do you want me to handle?"

* * *

 

After he found the note on the previously locked door, Jenkins sent Stone to find the others.  He tried the kitchen first, since he figured that was the easiest place to find Jones.  He was right, but he also found Cassandra.

She was seated across from Ezekiel at the table, nibbling on a sandwich.  He was so glad to see her eat that he beamed at her.  She was even wearing a bit of color today, still dark, but better than the last few days.

"Hey," he said, remembering why he came. "I hate to break this up but . . . ."

"What's a matter, Stone?" Ezekiel quipped. "You breaking this up because I'm taking care of the little woman better than you?"

"Excuse me?" Stone turned to him, his smile for his wife changing to a scowl.

"Little woman?" Cassandra asked, her own expression changing to irritation.

"Oh, come off it guys.  I know you're married."

"What?" Stone asked.

"How?" Cassandra added.

Ezekiel rolled his eyes. "You do realize that marriages are matters of public record right?  Once I heard about Florida, I did a rather simple search. So hey, congratulations!" He popped the rest of his sandwich into his mouth and chewed. "So what did you need?"

Stone opened and closed his mouth a couple of times. Then shook his head. "We found a weird note for Jenkins down on that door that no one has a key for. Thought you guys might want to check it out. "

"I'm game," Ezekiel said, standing up.

Cassandra shook her head at Ezekiel and put her sandwich down. "Might as well."

"Might as well start wearin' your ring, darlin'," Stone sighed. "Jenkins knows we're married too."

Cassandra giggled, the first sound of joy he'd heard from her in what seemed an eternity.  Then she put her hand in the pocket of her dress and pulled out her ring.  He grinned at her as she put it on. All this time she'd been carrying hers around as well. Then she took his hand in hers and held it as they went to check out this new discovery.

Little did either of them know as they excited the kitchen that the locked door lead to Baird and Flynn who had time travelled the long way.  The tears and grief of the previous few days dissolved into joy as they greeted their friends.

"So what'd I miss?" Baird asked, adding besides the last few hundred years.

"Well dinosaurs are back," Cassandra said with a twinkle in her eye.  "And Jacob and I are married."

"Wait what?" Baird said, stopping short and staring at her. "You're kidding, right?"

Cassandra laughed, a joyful sound that made her husband, who was not that far away beam in delight. "I am about the dinosaurs!"

"What?" Baird all but shouted. "Stone and Flynn, get back over here."

Cassandra extended her left hand and Stone was already taking his chain off his neck as he walked back with Flynn.

"When did you get married?" Baird asked, staring from Cassandra to Stone who was putting his ring on.

The couple looked guilty. "A couple of days after Wexler, actually," Cassandra said sheepishly.

"That was months ago.  You've been married for **months**?"

"Yeah," Stone cringed. "We kinda figured this would be the reaction. That's why we didn't tell you.  But uh, well, Jenkins told me he's known all along.  Then Jones figured it out.  Besides, even Prospero must have gotten an idea because our happily ever after . . . ."

"Included you being married," finished Flynn who until now had let his girlfriend talk. "Well that certainly explains your deflection when Eve asked you about it."

"Yeah.  Are you guys mad?" Cassandra asked.

Eve shook her head finally and pulled first Cassandra and then Stone in for a hug. "I'm disappointed that you felt you should hide. But I think I understand the reasons why.  But are you happy?"

"Very happy," Stone said, putting an arm around Cassandra.

"Then I can only be happy for you guys," Baird said.  But then she lightly smacked his face. "No more secrets! I mean it.  Now I need to go put on some normal clothes.  Centuries of a corset, that's not something I recommend."

"Yeah,  ditto about these tights.  Congratulations you two," Flynn said shaking Stone's hand and kissing Cassandra's cheek.  Then he followed Eve out.

"Well," Cassandra chuckled. "Truth's out now."

"Yeah," Jacob said, sliding his hands around her waist. "I mean I think we still need to keep it quiet outside the Library, bad guys still."

She nodded. "No wearing our rings on cases."

"But we don't have to hide any more. No throwing my stuff into a box when Baird comes over for girls' night."

"No hiding in closets," Cassandra laughed. "No having to make up excuses for arriving or leaving together and we don't have to worry about moving in together when our leases run out."

"I, for one, am glad that I don't have to hide in closets anymore."  Jacob kissed her nose.

"Honey?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to apologize for the last few days."

"What for? You were upset. Rightfully so. I was too."

"I know," Cassandra shifted her arms around her husband's neck.  "But last night I realized for the first time that you were hurting too. I was ignoring your pain because I was buried in mine. You love them too.  And I realize now that you needed to take care of me and I wasn't letting you. "

He nodded and pressed a kiss against her cheek. "I was glad to see you wearing a bit of color and eating today. I was hoping I got through last night."

"You did," Cassandra sighed. "We're gonna have times of sorrow here.  And I'm making a promise now to remember that we're in this together.  We took vows."

"For better and worse, Cassie.  Together. Okay? I promise to let you do what you need to do, if you promise to let me do what I need as well."

She smiled. "I will.  I'm just new at this."

He shrugged. "We both are, darlin'. We'll figure it out, together.  You know what?"

"What?"

"There's one other thing that's great about everyone knowing now."

"What's that?"

"I don't gotta look over my shoulder anymore if I wanna kiss you.  I mean I ain't gonna make out with you in front of them or anything.  But it's nice that if we're all alone in a room like right now . . . ."

Cassandra grinned and leaned forward. "I like the way you're thinking right now, cowboy."

Their lips met and he pulled her tighter.  Not long ago they'd been given a glimpse at a happily ever after that they could have had.  But here in this moment, in this impossible amazing Library where anything was possible?  That was their happily ever after.  Ever moment together, no matter what their future brought.

"What are you thinking?" Cassandra asked him as they parted and he took her hand.

"That I'm glad I took a leap with you in a garden in Florida."

"Me too," and they walked out of the room, hand in hand to catch up with the others.

 

The End

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you everyone for reading and for your comments. I really appreciate it! Happy New year!


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